Waves From Mexico
by smartkid37
Summary: Abby's Teaching Trip to Mexico is over and she and Tim are safely back home. What happens when what took place there creates ripples and waves that change everything? How will it affect Team Gibbs?
1. Chapter 1

_Tag: Bordorland_

_This one has been boiling on the back burner since this episode aired._

_Inspired by the crappy way Abby treated Tim in this episode._

__

_WARNING: If you actually liked the way Abby acted in this episode; then b__ack out of this one and DO NOT READ IT._

_Please do NOT read this with the intent to Flame._

_Should you decide to read this with the intent to enjoy it for the fiction that it is; We thank you._

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Slight AU - For the purposes of this storyline - the body that was given to Abby for her Class Lecture in Mexico was a Mexican citizen that had NO connection to Gibbs.

Slight OOC - I know I don't get the characters perfect. I can only try.

Enjoy!

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As he rested his mind, eyes and body on the flight back to D.C. Tim McGee could only be thankful that this ill-fated trip to Mexico was almost over. The fact that Abby was presently ensconced in her music through her headphones, as she steadfastly watched the world fly by out of her window in the seat next to him was also a good thing. He didn't have anything to say to her at the moment, anyway and not having to struggle with it was a huge help in his ability to calm the burning anger he was trying desperately to bank. As a matter of fact, as of this very moment, he doubted they'd have anything to say to each other for quite a long while yet.

Tim was sure that if it wasn't for the fact the Director was sending an Agency car and driver for them; Abby would be bolting back to the Navy yard under her own steam the minute they landed at the airport and leaving him behind; probably in hopes not only for another laugh at his expense but also in the hopes that he'd wind up earning Gibbs' wrath on her account, once again. Sometimes Tim could swear it was things like that that made Abby's day; _She took lessons from the old Tony before he stopped being such a jerk_.Tim couldn't help but think to himself. Maybe he was just tired and being less than charitable; but, _damn it, she'd earned it!_

She hadn't acted this irresponsible or self-centeredly since; well in a very long time and quite frankly; it was a side of Abby that made Tim awash with relief that he _wasn't_ in a relationship with her, like he used to wish for. In fact; it erased the last vestitures of desire to do so from his heart; which until six months ago, had steadfastly held onto that whisper of hope; wrapped up in boundless forgiveness, love and sympathy for all that Abby was and everything she did. This was also a side to her that had now taken a very serious chip out of the foundation of their friendship. Tim had had enough.

_No! He wasn't going there_. Tim pushed his anger and aggravation down and held on to his commitment to relax enough to allow his stomach to attempt to right itself after the hellish last couple of days it had been through. While he'd not been completely sick, he had made enough errors in judgement regarding Mexican food and water that he'd had a rough time of it. Abby had enjoyed every minute of his discomfort.

_Damn it! No! Stop thinking about it!_ Tim mentally chided himself as he shifted in his seat to get comfortable. When that became impossible, he beckoned to the stewardess. When she arrived at his seat, he stood and whispered in her ear and headed to the bathroom, just to stretch his legs.

As he reached the bathroom door, he held on to it for a contemplative minute. Tim knew he needed to pull himself together. Technically, he was still on protection detail and he wasn't about to blow that by leaving the stewardess to do his job for him any longer than absolutely necessary. He didn't need anything else to go wrong on this trip, especially on his end of things.

As she watched Tim get up and walk to the bathroom, while the stewardess stood silently by Abby's seat, Abby couldn't help but smirk. He'd been so careless during this trip; forgetting to only use bottled water and forgetting to be extremely careful about what he ate. She couldn't help but make fun of him for it. Sure, he was miserable, but, darn, he'd done it to himself, and he should have known better. It was hilarious. The look on his face the other night when she'd reminded him so cheekily that he'd forgotten to use bottled water on his toothbrush had been priceless; just as priceless as when she'd picked up her pillow and duffle bag and left their room to go sleep in her 'classroom'. Seeing Tim stop at the plane's bathroom door now and hold onto it for a minute, broke Abby's smirk out even wider.

When he stood there without moving, however, she felt a sliver of concern edge into her mind past her humor and her smirk disappeared. Tim turned around after a minute and headed back to his seat, but the slow pace and the dark shadowed look on his face unsettled her. This wasn't the Timmy she knew. Now the concern she felt was climbing. Something was wrong and she had to find out what it was.

As he walked back to his seat, his anger continued to grow even as he was steadily worked at mentally stomping the fire of it out. He was just so damn tired of always being treated like someone there just for her to push around and make fun of, instead of respect and listen to. The careless choices she made on this trip had almost cost him his freedom; his life, even. If that had been the way the cards had played out; Tim McGee would be dead by now, and Abby Scuito would probably be unconcernedly on her way back to NCIS. He wondered if that thought had even crossed her mind at all back there, out at that 'crime scene'. She sure hadn't acted like it had. She acted like she didn't even give a damn. Not one word had she said about the whole mess either.

_Did she ever stop for a minute to consider the possible outcome of something before she drug everyone else into her bullheaded plans?_ While doing so had never been her strong suite; this damn sure hadn't been an appropriate time for her to pull her typical aires and walk all over him. He had been sent down there to keep her safe; and she'd basically laughed in his face about it; repeatedly. They'd been told it was dangerous to be away from their safe housing arrangements; but Abby had refused to listen when she'd foolishly bulldozed her way into taking the entire class of University students out to the unsafe area where the drug cartel was known to be lurking and preying on people as they saw fit.

It hadn't been bad enough she'd foolishly left the safety of their hotel room the night before; just so she could self-righteously claim she couldn't sleep in the room with him because he was going to be sick from his mis-step with the water; no, then she had to take it up another notch. Risking her own safety wasn't enough of a dare for her; she obviously needed to raise the stake; like they were playing some high stakes poker tournament or something; instead of trying to get something accomplished while staying safe.

God knows what she'd been trying to prove, but whatever it had been; had not been worth the risk of all those students' safety or her own; even if she didn't give a damn about his.

Tim had done his damnedest to fight her; to block her efforts to make that trip away from the safety of the University. She'd bulldozed right over him; as usual; thinking little or nothing of the fact that he'd been sent there to protect her and he was the seasoned Agent and she wasn't. He knew what he was doing; she didn't.

And as if, the risks she'd put them all in wasn't bad enough, She'd further climbed up on her self-appointed pedestal as they'd driven back from that little "field trip". Abby had blithely ignored him and steadfastly kept her attention on her 'students'. That had actually been fine with him. He'd been too frayed at the edges to deal with her mouth then, anyway. _What the hell was he supposed to tell Gibbs? She was his favorite, everyone knew that. But, would he do anything about this? Probably not; unless it was to somehow find Tim responsible for it_.

Gibbs'd not only never done anything to curtail her crap over the last five years but was always quick to blame Tim for Abby's pushiness and less than smart decisions that created situations where Tim was left holding the bag. _What would make this any different_? Once again, Tim found himself just wishing this damn trip was over_. Hell, he wished this day was over. He'd give anything to drown himself in a pitcher of beer right about now; and hell, he didn't even drink!_

When he got back to their seats and quietly thanked the stewardess for staying close by Abby in his absence and sat down, Abby seemed to be waiting to talk to him.

"McGee? You don't look so hot." Abby sympathized with just enough humor in her voice that he wasn't fooled. She didn't really care if there was something wrong and right now he had no tolerance for her attitude. It was obvious she was chalking how he felt as the result of the mistakes he'd made back in Mexico and was still getting a kick out of his discomfort.

Taking her words and the humor she obviously couldn't let go of at his expense, for another slap in the face, Tim did his best to keep his emotions out of his answer; his ingrained manners preventing him from ignoring her, like he so desperately wanted to right now. With a face as devoid of any emotion as he could manage, he finally answered her.

"I'm fine." He sat down and laid his head back against the seat and closed his eyes; determined to keep conversation between them to a minimum. He'd had enough of her smug high and mighty attitude to last him a long time. Thank goodness, he wouldn't be needed down in her lab after they got back. Now, if they could just get back, he'd be all right.

Abby didn't like that he was lying to her and she didn't appreciate his being so short with her. It was obvious he was not all right. But, it was equally obvious he wasn't going to talk to her about it. With a huge sigh of utter frustration, Abby deliberately rearranged herself in her seat in a way that left no doubt, she was put out by his refusal to talk to her.

He didn't care. His stomach was upset, his nerves were still trying to calm down after that near miss with that Cartel. _Why couldn't Abby ever listen when she was told to error on the side of caution about something? Oh, right, it was because it had come from Tim and not from Tony or Ziva or Gibbs. Damn, I keep forgetting that_! Tim thought as his anger began to rise up again.

_Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! STOP THINKING ABOUT THIS!_ He mentally screamed at himself and stomped the flames of anger back out until they once again merely smoldered. Somehow, this time, he was unable to completely extinquish them, like he used to be able to do. Unable to find peace behind his closed eyes; Tim opened his eyes and reached under the seat for his knapsack; digging out a book. He was dying to get out his laptop and email a few people; but he needed privacy for that and he wasn't going to be getting that on this flight, so he settled for reading his book. He just hoped like hell, that Abby would take the hint and leave him alone.

Sure enough, when the book came out, Abby gave up the fight. She was tired and needed to relax anyway. If Timmy was gonna be pig-headed, she'd leave him to it. Now was not the time for him to exert his male-ness over her. Guys were notorious for not talking about what ever was buggin' them, Normally, Tim was excluded from that bunch; but right now; at this moment, he seemed to be a pro at it_. Damn it, Tony's rubbed off on him!_ Abby silently fumed as she settled back down under her headphones and turned her music back on; once again tuning the irritated man beside her; out for the remainder of the trip.

Even as they deplaned and their bags retrieved by Tim, and gotten in the car; the uncomfortable silence remained. Abby wasn't used to this side of Tim and it was completely unnerving. It was the longest most uncomfortable hour she had ever spent in his company since she'd known him and she hated every minute of it. The second the limo eased to a stop outside NCIS, Abby was out the door, throwing over her shoulder as she ran, "I'll be in my lab" for the sake of knowing Gibbs would want to know where she was the minute he knew they were back in the building.

Tim let out a tense sigh and rolled his shoulders; truly thankful to once again be out of Abby's company. She was a lot to handle on most days; but for the scope of this trip; she'd been downright impossible. Oh, yeah, it was great to be home; where he was no longer the heavy. As a matter of fact; home was where he could fade back into the backdrop and be invisible; like he usually was. Right now, that would work well for him.

Stepping back Into the squad room, still toting his solution for his upset stomach; he responded to Tony's teasing jibe in stride and went straight to his desk; firing up his computer and settling back into his job. Maybe he could get through the rest of this day without further incident.

As Gibbs walked in, stopped at Tim's desk and immediately asked him where Abby was without so much as a "_how'd it go, McGee?"_ ; Tim answered him immediately and as calmly as he could considering he felt an immediate sense of irritation._ Would things never change around here? Was Abby __**still **__the only one Gibbs truly cared about?_

Without missing a beat, as soon as Gibbs headed out of the squad room, Tim got back into the conversation with Tony and Ziva about the current case and dug in to help where he could; all thoughts and irritations about Mexico and Abby and Gibbs' favoritism set aside for the moment.

It was a long day and at the end of it, he was breathing a sigh of relief. Part of this day had been spent up in Vance's office as the Director laid out his request for a detailed report of the Mexican trip. Vance wanted to know everything that took place while he'd been on duty as Abby's Protection. Tim internally shuddered at the thought of having to lay out every single detail of what had happened. He'd look like an idiot with some of the things he'd forgotten to be careful about. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time and most likely wouldn't be the last.

But, one thing he knew without a shadow of a doubt; was he'd done his damnedest to protect Abby down there. Trouble was, would Gibbs see that? Probably not. He never noticed it; only noticed Tim's screw-ups. Well, then it was a sure bet; he'd find out about the ones he'd committed down there; and once again be on the receiving end of Gibbs' ire. He'd better brace for it now. Maybe this time it wouldn't result in hours spent on his knees in public humiliation. Tim could only hope.

With the Director's warnings about the report needing to be as thorough and precise as a normal Case Report; Tim dug in to getting it written. He'd waited until Gibbs had called it the end of the day to get started on it, even if it was required on the job. He didn't want to give the man any reason to be pissed at him. Tim had managed to actually get through the day without that happening and he seriously wanted; needed to finish out the day on the same wave of success in that arena. Somehow, he'd get through this report with his job still intact. After mindlessly holding his bottom lip for ransom between his teeth, his brain kicked into gear, his teeth let go of his lip; and he dug into his report; his fingers flying across the keys.

"McGee. What are you still doin' here?" Gibbs asked in surprise as he stepped up to the young man's desk.

"Working on my report for the Director, Boss." Tim said quietly as he stopped typing and respectfully gave Gibbs his undivided attention. With his heart in his throat, he silently sent up a prayer that he'd get through this moment with the man without screwin' it up.

"Anything you wanna tell me?" Gibbs asked in that tone of his that made the question an actual order to be carried out.

"About what, exactly, Boss?" Tim asked cautiously.

"Mexico." The boss replied in the tone that clearly spoke of his irritation at having to get specific.

"Nothing that won't be in the report, Boss." Tim answered quietly and without hesitation.

Gibbs arched his eyebrow at his less than forthright answer and stood his ground for a silent minute, hoping the normal Tim McGee would resurface and a more thorough answer would arrive. Finally, he gave in; shrugged and said. "Okay, McGee, your call." Before walking out to get coffee.

Tim let out his breath, unaware until then that he'd even been holding it; and worked to get his breathing back to normal and get back into his report.

While keeping to the facts of what took place there; Tim refused to refer to the incident with the Drug Cartel; believing it to be separate and entirely irrelevant to what they'd gone down there to get done. Nothing had come of it and no one had gotten hurt. And so the report was written as though the incident with the Cartel never took place. Also excluded from his report, was Abby's spending the night in her classroom. Aside from that, Tim was thorough and accurate, as usual.

Thirty thankfully solitary minutes later, Tim was done. Saving the file, he printed several copies of it, closed down his work station, scooped his report from the printer, as well as his backpack and headed out. As he walked, he set one copy of the report in a case folder and set it on Gibbs' desk; headed up the stairs to deliver it to the Director; and then took the elevator down to the squad room, quickly ducking into the stair well to head out to the parking lot the invisible way. He didn't want to talk to anyone right now. He was tired, irritated and ready for a long night of peaceful sleep. First, he had a phone call to make. As soon as he was safely in the privacy of his car, he flipped his phone open and made the call on speaker so he could drive safely while he talked.

"Hey, So sorry, I couldn't call you before now, Work's been really hectic."

"_I know, Tim. I know you didn't get in until this afternoon and now you have that creepy case to get through and figure out. We're fine, you and me. Don't worry. Are you okay? I know Abby was pretty unkind to you about the possibility of you being her escort."_

"Yeah, I told you I heard what she said to you. Do you think I played it cool enough that she didn't realize I'd heard her?"

"_Oh, yeah, Honey, You were great. I'm sorry you had such a rough trip. So glad you were able to find the time and peace and quiet to call me while you were there. You sure you don't want me to have a talk with Abby?"_

"No, Sweetheart, I don't want you to worry about it. I'll take care of it. It's just gonna take some time and some kid gloves. Besides, we don't want to add any complications to our relationship, remember? And clueing Abby in would definitely do that!"

"_Don't you think after all this time, if she still doesn't get it; it'll take something stronger?"_

"Probably, but with Gibbs as her champion, I don't have a choice."

"_Oh, Sweetie!"_

"Honey, don't worry. This will all work out. I didn't mean to complain. I'll call you in the morning, okay?"

"_Okay, Tim.. You just make sure you get a good night's sleep. And don't worry about Jethro. He can wait to see you. He and I are getting along just great and your sleep comes first, anyway."_

"Thanks. Sweetie. I'll call you in the morning. Do you wanna meet for breakfast somewhere?"

"_Tim. Honey, I know you really want us to be able to see each other, but you know we can't do that. People would talk and your job and mine would get really really complicated. Neither of us needs that right now. Weren't you just reminding me of that?"_

"I know. I just miss you. Can't wait to see you."

"_Soon, Baby. Soon. Be patient. God knows you've been patient already, but hang in there, the weekend's ?"_

"Sure. You get a good night's sleep too, Sweetie. You hear?""

"_Yes, Tim. I promise. Good Nite!"_

"Nite, Sweetheart."

As soon as he got home, Tim got ready for bed, his heart and mind feeling much lighter. This relationship was really going well and even though they'd been dating for four months, he really felt this was meant to be. Even so; they were taking it slow by mutual agreement. After hearing what the other had been through, both of them had promised not to rush through this and so neither had journeyed past the endearing nicknames as of yet. The 'Love' word hadn't even been mentioned; as both of them put way too much emotion and trust into the use of it and hadn't yet felt their relationship had gotten to that point. No matter, they were both happy in the budding relationship. And now, his report was done, the blasted trip to Mexico was over with and life could get back to normal; well almost normal.


	2. Chapter 2

Things got off to a fairly good start the next morning. Tim was able to call his sweetheart and have a nice conversation with her and he felt bouyed in spirit as he headed into work; making sure to leave early enough that he wouldn't be looking at getting stuck in traffic. It was an excuse he was tired of having to use; even if it was the truth; and even if had been a good six months since he'd had to use it.

Tim much preferred being early; missing the traffic tie-ups' and having ample time to enjoy his coffee and his peace and quiet; usually broken first by the arrival of Gibbs. Lately, though, Tim had figured out the timing of things so that he was usually convienently in the break room when Gibbs came in; and usually just as convienently already at his desk when Gibbs came back in with his fresh coffee for the beginning of the day.

Nothing was usually said between them at this time; both preferring the peace and quiet of the almost empty squad room. It was amazing that in all the years they'd worked on the team together; it had taken Tim this long to find something he could do that wouldn't piss Gibbs off. Or at least, not piss him off enough that he'd go off on him about it. Who knew how Gibbs felt about Tim's early arrival every morning? The man never would talk to him, so Tim damn sure didn't know. Choosing to ally himself to the expression, "Ignorance is bliss" literally, Tim kept to his pattern, so long as it made his life simpler.

This morning, though, seemed different. Gibbs was apparently waiting for a shoe to drop somewhere, judging by his less than contented demeanor, even with most of his first cup of coffee already downed. Still, Tim kept his mouth shut; unwilling to have his concern thrown back in his face, as Gibbs sometimes did. Instead, he chose to discreetly leave the man in peace, making a silent exit from the squad room and an even quiet entry into the stairwell.; not even wanting the sound of the elevator to disturb the man.

Gibbs watched as his agent left him in peace. Unsettled with the new attitude Tim seemed to be carrying; he felt a shiver of unease climb up his spine. Something was up with that kid and he'd damn sure like to know what it was; but something else was bothering Gibbs more. Tim had been extremely quiet and almost withdrawn when he wasn't talking to Tony and Ziva about the current case. It had been like watching two different people trying to function in the same body from the minute Gibbs had asked him where Abby was as soon as he got in from the airport yesterday. This was so unlike McGee, it had Gibbs genuinely beginning to feel concern.

Abby had been quieter than usual yesterday when she got back, too. The fact that the neither of his two normally very close team members didn't come within twenty feet of each other for the remainder of the day clinched it. Putting all the clues together to make the picture complete wasn't hard for the boss; but figuring out what the final piece was; the mitigating factor; was proving to be damn difficult. Since both were back safe and sound and neither had gotten into trouble down there; he was only left with guesswork; which he hated. He'd have to wait and see what happened next, since neither one of them were talking about it.

As he sat at his desk in the eerily quiet squad room, Gibbs felt Vance's eyes on him. Raising his own eyes up to the Mezzanine level, he wasn't surprised to find he'd been right. In typical fashion, Vance gestured for him to join him upstairs for a chat. With that returning feeling of being unsettled, Gibbs headed up to see what Vance wanted. Somehow, he knew it couldn't be good.

"Had a chance to read Agent McGee's report from Mexico?" Vance asked as they walked back to his office.

"Haven't had the time, yet, Leon. Gibbs offered honestly.

" I'd suggest you make the time. Now would be best," Vance said cryptically as he handed Gibbs his copy of the report in question.

Several silent minutes later Gibbs finished reading it and set the report down; looking at Vance with irritation as he did. "It's just like his other reports, Leon; thorough, accurate, no misspellings. You have a problem with it?"

"Have you seen Ms. Scuito's report on Mexico?" was Vance's only response.

"Yes, Leon, I have."

"And you don't see a problem?"

"No, I don't! Both of them always do good work. You know this. What's your point?"

"My point, Gibbs. Is that I just got off a video conference with the Mexican Government. It seems as though neither of your people have been completely up front about what took place down there." Leon explained. As he finished speaking, he picked up the remote to his television and turned it on, to what was obviously a recording.

"Director Vance"

"_The Reynosa Drug Cartel made a serious allegation charging that the Mexican government is deliberately trying to provoke them by sending Foreign Agents and Forensic Scientists out into their territory with a classroom full of University students. _

_The Mexican Government takes these allegations very seriously. They have no desire to see the tenuous peaceful relationship with the Reynosa's and their allies damaged or eroded. The safety and well-being of the Mexican civilians is paramount to the peacekeeping efforts the Government works hard to maintain._

_As such, and in keeping with those peacekeeping efforts, these allegations have been investigated. Through captured video surveilliance footage and eye witness accounts, the following situation has come to light._

_As he had personally requested her visit and sponsored it; Senor Marco Sanchez was held responsible for both her safety and her actions while she was a visitor in our country and a guest of our government._

_Senor Sanchez, once questioned, disclosed information of the events that took place. _

_Mr. Sanchez states that he specifically warned the NCIS Forensic Scientist and her Special Agent Escort to remain where their safety could be guaranteed. They had even been strongly advised NOT to seek space at a motel; requesting that they, instead, make do with the one room for the duration of their stay; for their safety._

_Apparently, his is so taken with Ms. Scuito, he was willing to overlook these events._

_The Mexican Government is not. _

_Ms Scuito willfully disregarded the warnings of the Mexican Justice Department Spokesman, Senor Sanchez to remain in places that had been designated as safe for her while she was in our country to conduct her instructional class on The Forensic Science of Working on a Cold Case. _

_Further investigation into this matter, through both eye witness accounts of a conversation and video surveillance tape obtained from the restaurant where United States Federal Agent Timothy McGee and United States Citizen, Forensic Scientist, Abby Scuito met before they set out on ill-advised trip._

"_Their conversation was caught on this tape and shows that Ms Scuito also willfully disregarded the instructions of her assigned NCIS Escort, Agent McGee as he attempted to enforce the advice and instruction of Mr. Sanche._

_Ms. Scuito recklessly and rashly carried out her own agenda which resulted in the near abduction of not only the entire class of University student but, Ms. Scuito herself, as well as Agent McGee._

_We believe you need to see and hear this for yourself:_

"_Abby no! You can't take them out there! You heard what Marco said!"_

"_McGee, Just because you're determined to be the party pooper throughout this entire trip does not mean you're gonna stop me from teach MY class the way I see fit! And I say, we need to go to the evidence!"_

_Abby, you know you could have them bring it to you! There is no reason to put yourself in danger! You can't put them in danger like this either! These drug cartels are nothing to fool around with, Abby!"_

"_Oh, Timmy, stop being such a baby. There's no way, any drug cartel is gonna waste their time on a group of college students and their teacher oh, and the teacher's pet. ! We're harmless! We're not a threat to anybody!"_

"_No, Abby! That's final!"_

"_Yeah, okay, McGee. You keep thinkin' that! And while you're busy thinking that; my students and I will be loading up into the van. Don't keep us waiting long, McGee. We have a crime scene to investigate!"_

_Abby is seen walking away and the clumping of Abby's boots can be heard walking away as Tim is left sitting at the table for a moment as he voices his frustration: "Damn it, Abby; why the hell don't you ever take me seriously when I'm your protection detail? Why don't you ever listen to me?" _

_Tim is seen getting up from the table; throwing money for their meal onto the table and hurrying out after Abby._

_**End of Played Tape**"_

_It was the brave actions of Agent McGee at the scene of the confrontation with Paloma Reynosa ,when he unhesitatingly and calmly offered himself up to Ms. Reynosa and her guards in exchange for the release of all the students and Ms. Scuito, which successfully brought about the safe return of all persons to the University."_

_Senorita Reynosa was most impressed with his quick thinking and his bravery; despite the fact that she believes it to be a deliberate set up by the Mexican Government. It was Agent McGee's actions and cool head that convinced her to let them go regardless. _

_Nevertheless; Director Vance, Regardless of what arrangements you have with Senor Sanchez; Ms. Scuito is not advised to return to this country any time in the near future, if she can not refrain from taking such risks. Senor Sanchez has been dealt with in regard to his breech of adequate safety precautions for American dignitary visitors. While he warned them; he also failed to ensure they followed his warning. Additionally, he did nothing to aide them in being able to do the job he'd asked her to do.; thus leading Ms. Scuito to take her class where it was dangerous_.

_Government relations with the Drug Cartels here are precarious enough as it is. We do not need foreign citizens setting themselves up to be targets. Taking Mexican citizens along and putting them in such danger is absolutely unacceptable._

_We appreciate your cooperation in this matter, Director Vance._

As the video stopped, Vance turned on Gibbs.

"What the hell happened down there, Gibbs?"

"You heard the tape, Leon. You heard the man. You know what happened. Hell, you probably know more than I do!" Gibbs shot back in anger. This had hit him from out of the blue and that was one thing he hated more than anything was when his people kept things from him; especially big things like this! Whipping out his phone, he called Abby,

"Morning. Gibbs." She answered much more quietly than usual. Maybe this is what had been bothering these two. He was about to find out.

"Abby, get up here to the Director's Office and bring McGee with you!" Gibbs ordered before he snapped his phone shut.

While they waited, Gibbs picked the remote up and listened to the report again.

As Abby headed up to the squad room, she found Tim steadily working at his desk; his fingers flying over the keyboard. He didn't look as angry or upset as he had on the plane yesterday but he was definitely not himself. Even Tony and Ziva were looking at him as if they knew something was 'off' with him.

"McGee. You and I are wanted in Vance's office." Abby said quietly as she stood in front of the man's desk.

As Tim stopped typing; he looked at Abby, trying to judge if she was pulling his leg or not. After a silent minute, he figured she was serious, so he shut down his work station, before he glanced silently at Tony and then Ziva and then headed upstairs, taking the time to not be rude as he waited for Abby to preceed him up the stairs and to the Director's Office.

This couldn't be good.

It was hard to say who was more shocked and worried about Tim's complete silence with Abby; the jury was still out on whether or not Tony and Ziva were more concerned than Abby was herself. Then again, Tony and Ziva were completely clueless as to what was going on and so it was a safe bet that their surprise and their worry was sharper. It was just as much a safe bet that Tony would get to the bottom of it; after all Tim was his Probie and something was bothering the younger man. When it came to Tim; when he was upset enough to show signs of it, Tony went on the offensive; wanting to fix the problem. After all, that's what big brothers did.


	3. Chapter 3

When Abby and Tim reached the outer office of the Director, it didn't really come as a big surprise to be greeted by the smiling face of the Director's assistant. She had a warm face, but it didn't stop them feeling uneasy at both the meeting and having to spend this amount of time together; they were ushered to the seats and asked to wait for the meeting, something that was done in complete silence given they had absolutely nothing that they wanted to say to each other.

Tim looked at her warily as she walked back to her desk; Did she know what was going on and it was something good or did she just not know and it was bad? Neither of them could tell. While the waiting seemed endless; the tension in the air seemed to thicken very quickly. Looking at the two of them sitting as far apart as they could be with only three chairs to choose from; they were not the picture of best friends; heck; you couldn't even tell Abby and Tim even tolerated each other, the way they put every square inch of distance between them that was possible. Were they even doing it on purpose? Did they realize they were doing it? It was so unlike them, it just didn't seem real. Had anyone who knew them come in; what they would have seen would have shocked them.

Finally, the Director's Assistant's phone buzzed and when she answered it; the call was very brief and to the point. Hanging up the phone, she rounded the desk and bid both of her guests to follow her as she walked to the door to Director Vance's office and opened it inward for them, shutting it behind them as they stepped into the room. The click of the door closing behind them had the ominous sound of trouble to it and neither of the summoned team members felt very good about this.

"Have a seat." Vance instructed them as he gestured toward his meeting table in front of the television screen that hung high on his wall.

Tim looked up off the floor long enough to very quickly scan the room; notice Gibbs standing by the window, looking at both of his team members with something unreadable in his expression; and look back to the floor. With uncertainty, worry and even a touch of fear; Tim took himself over to the table and sat in a chair as the Director had instructed. With iron-clad control, Tim kept his eyes focused either on the television screen or the Director, when he wasn't looking at the grain of wood on the table in front of him.

As expected, Vance was the first to speak into the silence that had settled over the room so thickly it was almost suffocating.

"Either of you have anything you need to tell us about Mexico?"

Tim knew the gig was up. He wasn't sure how it had come up; or how it had gotten back to Vance; but he knew without a doubt the gig was up and Gibbs knew about it too. The question was; just how much of what happened down there was now in evidence against him? And how the hell was he supposed to talk about this in front of Abby and her champion defender?

"Agent McGee?" Vance asked him directly. "Do you have anything else you need to add to your written report?"

Tim thought about this for a minute. He would not lie on record; and he hated like hell to lie at all; most especially to either one of these men; men he looked up to and respected; men who had helped shape who he'd become. But, he'd never been one to rat out anyone and knowing that part of Gibbs' moral code came from the Marine code "You rat, you fry" didn't help.

Technically, he didn't need to add anything but he was beginning to question just how much not ratting Abby out was worth to his career. Then again, he wasn't willing to discuss what happened down there in front of Abby or her surrogate father who held her up on a pedestal. If it were just himself and Director Vance, it might be a different story; might.

"No, Sir."

"McGee." Came Gibbs' growl from the man's place by the window.

Tim kept his eyes on Vance with more strength than he realized he even had, but his heart dropped to his toes. This was it; his relationship with Gibbs wouldn't be the same after this, he could see it coming. Damn it, the price of this trip had just crossed over into '_too high'_.

"Ms Scuito? Do you have anything to add to your report?"

"No, Sir." Abby's answer came very quickly and in voice full of determination.

"Unbelievable" muttered Gibbs.

Vance stared at the two members of Team Gibbs who were very clearly not being honest with him for a long minute before he silently picked up the tv remote and clicked the button that turned on both the television and the recording they both obviously needed to see.

"Watch this closely." was his next order.

As the tape played, Tim became so engrossed in what he was hearing and the ever-sinking feelings that were coming from it that he hadn't noticed Gibbs moving away from the window and coming to stand at the head of the table where he could see both of their reactions up close.

While it had always been true that Tim's eyes were more clearly windows to his soul than anyone else the team knew, Gibbs was more than worried about him as much as he wanted the kid to spill his guts. For Tim to be so determined to not speak to the truth he'd been asked for; meant he was protecting someone. _Abby was the only one he could be protecting here; but why was he doing it? What did he think he was protecting her from_? His eyes were screaming not only desolate resignation, but also anger. _Who was he angry at?_

Abby, on the other hand, was looking more and more surprised, guilty and embarrressed as the recording played on. Obviously, she somehow hadn't realized that her secret had been safe until now. _Hadn't she known McGee hadn't ratted her out?_ She sure hadn't acted like someone who expected to be catching hell for her actions. Well, she had a hell of a shock comin' This was unacceptable and he seriously hoped that Vance would be the heavier of the two of them. He was feeling too out of his depth at the moment to be effective in dealing with her appropriately.

He'd never had to deal with Abby's behavior at this level before. She'd never crossed the line like this before and Gibbs had no clue what he was gonna do about it. Silently, he repeated the hope that Vance would handle this enough for the both of them.

Tim's behavior was also a struggle to deal with. The young man had never shown this level of refusal to cooperate. Even when his sister had been in trouble, he'd shown deep remorse for not coming to Gibbs first; for handling it by himself; and most importantly, for breaking Gibbs' trust.

Gibbs remembered how Tim had looked crushed for a long time after that case had been successfully solved. It had taken Ducky to open Gibbs' eyes to what exactly was going on with his younger agent. Once he'd been clued in, though, Gibbs had been vigilant in re-shaping Tim's understanding of where things stood between them; silently but steadily, in the way he handled things on the team after that, always being sure to include Tim in the field calls and call outs; always giving him things to do that left no doubt he was being trusted to do his job just as much as he had been before.

Now, it seemed as though whatever was going on with McGee was somehow more serious. _What could be more serious than protecting his sister from a murder rap? _Unwilling to let his working relationship with these two affect the investigation into why these two hadn't disclosed these situations in their reports; Gibbs silently removed himself from the room. He needed to let Leon take this one by the horns and go with it with no interference from him; or prejudicial behavior from his team; which his presence would most undoubtedly bring about.

When the tape was done, Vance looked at both Abby and Tim with an air of expectancy. When nothing was said by either of them, Vance found himself loosing patience.

"I'm not going to tolerate this. This is inexcusable. It's embarrassing and it should have been reported by both of you! Agent McGee, wait outside!"

Tim got up and took himself out to the outer office and sat in one of the chairs.

Director Vance's assistant smiled encouragingly at him but left him to his thoughts.

Vance looked at Abby, almost too angry to deal with her. He knew exactly why Gibbs had left the room; knew the Team Leader was just as angry as he was and even felt betrayed that these two trusted members of his team hadn't gone to him with this. Having this come from complete strangers had to have hit like a punch in the gut; and no one appreciated that; most especially a Team Leader who prided himself on having a team he could trust.

"I've run out of patience, Ms. Scuito. If you have nothing to say for yourself, I will deal with you according to what we've just seen and heard."

Abby was speechless. Hearing and seeing what she'd done and said in hindsight like this was truly eye opening. The fact that Timmy hadn't said a word before now and was even now refusing to say anything, to Gibbs even, stole her breath away and left her completely shaken and unsure of what to say or do. While Timmy hadn't thrown her to the sharks; he had, in effect, left her to sink or swim on her own. Despite her own guilt and responsibility in all of this; a piece of her couldn't help but feel angry that McGee hadn't even thrown her a life jacket.


	4. Chapter 4

_A/N : Fasten your seatbelts and have a tissue in your pocket just to be on the safe side._

* * *

Gibbs didn't' want to be summoned back into this but without a valid reason to escape the possibility; he had to settle for remaining available while working at his desk. He would not be the one to piss Vance off in this by disappearing just because he suddenly felt the need to go home and build something with his hands so his mind could sort itself out. Vance was angry enough as it was.

As he returned to his desk with a thankfully fresh cup of coffee, Gibbs silently dug back into the work piled there. Glancing at his other two present agents; he was thankful that they seemed to be peacefully and silently working; as if sensing that serious trouble was afoot and that no one was willing to talk about it or offer any information and so wisely refrained from asking for information

Tony could plainly see that Gibbs was much more than pissed; he was '_too pissed to be within 50 feet of who I'm pissed at'_ pissed. Wisely, Tony called upon his years of experience as Gibbs' Senior Field Agent, and left the man to his ire.

Mentally, he stoked his own fire of concern; about his Probie. Obviously the kid was in the thick of whatever this was; and since Abby had not only been summoned up to Vance's office as well; but had obviously pissed the Probie off enough that he wasn't speaking to her; AND they had both just gone to Mexico together; _OH, WAIT A MINUTE! What the hell did those two do down there?_

Now, Tony's mind was seriously spinning. _ANYTHING could have happened down there; and between those two? Oh, my God; the possibilities were endless and none of them good; judging by Gibbs' demeanor and the fact that neither Abby nor Tim had come back down. Oh, no! It had to be bad if Gibbs left them defenseless up there in Vance's office! Oh, no!_ Tony's gut was twisting and his heart was plummeting to his feet. _Something bad was getting ready to happen this team; this family; he could feel it._

Ziva watched as Tony's restlessness grew and his fidgeting worsened with each minute of it. She had learned to read Gibbs fairly well over the years and she too now knew he needed to be left in peace and that whatever was going on with McGee and Abby was not good. Could it be that Tony had figured out what was going on?

A throat being cleared from over by Gibbs' desk snapped both of their attentions to the boss. Once he had Tony's attention; Gibbs did what he knew Tony needed him to do; sent him on a mission; for coffee. Holding up his now empty cup; he hoped that this would not be one of those times that DiNozzo acted like he didn't get it.

Tony got it; and was grateful for it. He was also grateful that when he'd snagged Ziva to go with him, Gibbs hadn't even so much as batted an eye. That in itself clinched it for Tony; something was well and truly wrong and the crap was about to hit the fan. While he wanted to be there to find out what it was; he didn't want to be anywhere near Gibbs when the man finally blew what seemed to be a rapidly building full head of steam.

"Tony? It is obvious that you think you have figured out what is going on, so share it." Ziva demanded.

"I'm just tryin' to fit the pieces together, Ziva and to tell you the truth; I'm not liking the picture they seem to be coming up with." Tony answered her in all seriousness; in absolutely no mood for playing around.

"Explain it to me." Ziva's request was a genuine need to help sort out whatever the problem could be.

"Okay. Come over here." Tony led the way over to the bench nearby and dug out a piece of paper from his shirt pocket and a pen and began writing a list down one side of the paper. When he was done, he put one word on the other edge of the same side of that paper. Next, he drew a line from each item on the one side to the one word on the other side. When he was done, he handed the paper to Ziva.

Ziva looked at the paper for a long minute before she folded it up and handed it back to him. "You are telling me that whatever is going on with Abby and McGee is big enough to have Gibbs be this angry. It is big enough to have Vance angry enough to still be dealing with them about it even after Gibbs had returned to his desk. You are saying that the reason McGee has been so quiet and withdrawn and not speaking to Abby is a part of this And, you are telling me that all whatever this is, happened in Mexico?

"It has to be, Ziva. And we know that Probie has always carried the torch for our Lab Rat; so he'd never let anything bad happen to her, which is why Vance appointed him as her guardian down there; not to mention he knew you and I would be busy crackin' the case we were already on. Which leaves…"

"Tony, did Gibbs come back down from Vance's office alone because he is too angry to deal with them or did he do it because whatever this is; is over his head and too big for Gibbs authority to deal with it?"

"I don't know that yet, Ziva. But, what I'm saying is that it has to be about whatever those two did while they were down there and I'm not likin' what I'm thinkin' they did."

"Then stop thinking it, Tony! You are forgetting it is not Abby who is upset with McGee, it is the other way around!"

"Oh, right. Yeah, that does kinda wipe out _that _possibility, doesn't it?"

"Yes, Tony! And I am shocked that you would think McGee would do such a thing while on Protection Duty."

"Oh, c'mon, Ziva, the man's a man; not a statue!"

"McGee values Gibbs' faith and trust in him very highly, does he not?"

"Well, duh, Ziva, the whole world knows that by now."

"And would he still have that faith and trust if he broke Gibbs' rule #12; with Abby; while he was on Protection Duty?"

"Ahh-haa. No. He wouldn't. And Probie would know this and so he wouldn't do anything like _that_. Excellent Point, Ziva. Okay. Then we're back to the beginning. We have no idea what's going on; only that whatever it is; happened on that trip."

"And has Gibbs angry enough to take himself out of the doling out of the consequences?"

"We don't know that for sure yet, Ziva. But, it is a possibility, isn't it?" Tony asked as they reached the coffee shop and placed the order.

While on the way back, the silence between them was rich with contemplation as they both tried to think of possibilities of what the problem could be. While realizing they had a piece of the puzzle; it left them both truly frustrated with the knowledge that; in terms of putting this puzzle together; the piece they had wasn't a very definitive one at all.

* * *

Tim's nerves had plummeted to his feet. What was he supposed to do, now? He couldn't answer Vance's questions without ratting out Gibbs' favoritism toward Abby. After all, wasn't that the whole reason he'd refused to even consider going to Gibbs with Abby's behavior in the first place?

Gibbs was; well, Gibbs. But more than that, he was Tim's mentor, surrogate father, and rock when things got dicey out there. No matter what happened, Tim knew that Gibbs had their backs. He wasn't a talker and he wasn't a comforter but he had their backs and he never, ever lied to them. He played hard ball and kept them safe and he never, ever screwed then over.

So, there was no way in hell, that Tim was gonna roll over on Gibbs. It wasn't happening. Tim was NOT here to make trouble for his boss and he wasn't gonna lie about why he'd left what Abby had done out of his report. But, if he wasn't going to rat Gibbs out and he wasn't going to lie; that left only one choice. It wasn't one he was used to making; hell, he'd never been in this position before. But he felt no trepidation about his choice; hell, it wasn't even a choice; it was the ONLY thing he could do.

With that resolution firmly in place in his mind and in his heart; he mentally picked up the scattered pieces of his nerves and his backbone and pinned them all back in place. The longer he was stuck sitting there; the more pieces he determinedly glued into place; replacing the temporary and shaky pins; eventually becoming one solidified body, in mind and soul, prepared to stand his ground

After what seemed like forever, Vance's door opened and a stone-faced, poker straight Abby walked out and kept going without looking at either Tim or Vance's assistant.

"Agent McGee." Vance stonily spoke, knowing that those two words were all that were needed at the moment.

When the door closed behind him as he approached the Director's Desk and stood at parade attention; he, again felt the twinge of unease at the sound it made.

"I will warn you, Agent McGee, I am not in the mood for any more of this failure to cooperate. Now, what happened down there is pretty clear-cut. My question is why didn't you report any of that? At the very least, why didn't you call your immediate supervisor with it when you got back from the situation; before you even got back on that plane to come back here?"

Ten minutes later, Tim was headed back to his desk, silently and stoically. With silence that gave evidence to just how serious the situation was; he locked up his service weapon, badge and Agency I.D. closed down his work station, picked up his backpack, walked over to Gibbs' desk and handed his boss the piece of paper he'd come down the stairs with.

Before Gibbs's eyes had even finished processing what it was his agent was actually doing over at his desk; or he'd even unfolded the paper, the young man was silently saying goodbye to Tony and Ziva with his eyes and resolutely walking to the back stairs. Tim was unwilling to wait for the elevator. The last thing he needed was to be cornered in Gibbs' 'office'.

As the door to the stair well banged shut with a decisive 'slam' , Tony was up out of his seat and half –way to Gibbs' desk; ready to demand answers. He knew what this looked like and_ damn it, he'd better be wrong; cause there was no way in hell, he was gonna stand by and watch Probie get fired; he didn't care what the hell had happened in Mexico._

"Boss?" Tony demanded  
"Gibbs?" Ziva asked just as forcefully.

Gibbs' eyes were still on the paper that Tim had silently handed him;

**NOTICE OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION TAKEN:**

_For failure to cooperate by filing an incomplete report on an international incident  
And for further failure to cooperate by refusing to explain why such incident was intentionally left out of his report,_

NCIS Special Agent Tim McGee is hereby:

_**Suspended – 1 month without pay – effective immediately**_


	5. Chapter 5

Abby was in shock. She was angry, too; but mostly she was in shock. This had never happened to her before. She'd always skated by on her charm and thought it had pretty much secured her place in Gibbs' heart. He'd saved her from ever facing any kind of disciplinary action before now and thanks to the man, her record here was; until today, as clean as a whistle. Listening to Vance; she had been reminded of times gone by where she had actually earned an official reprimand but all she had ever gotten was Gibbs' disappointment and unofficial discipline; not forgetting the rare occasions where she's feel his wrath in the form of his anger. It was easier and safer to stay angry because Abby couldn't remember ever bringing this much trouble down on herself before and frankly, she was ill-prepared for it and for what it said about who she had become.

She remembered crossing swords with Gibbs when she'd taken Jethro back to the Pax River Base without asking and without a field kit even. Abby even remembered how displeased he had been when she used her lab to run her own private investigation into who had stolen her cupcake. She'd be the first to admit that she'd done some stupid stuff over the years; but her protector, her silver-haired fox that had saved her hide on numerous occasions; always had her back and promised her that he always would. He had used those exact words and had made her that promise countless times over the years. _So, what the hell just happened? Where the hell was he now? Hell, he hadn't even said anything to help her out up there in Vance's office! He'd left her there to fend for herself; to defend herself! What the hell kind of having her back was that?_

She was angry beyond all reason and was fuming to the point where she expected to see smoke filling the air around her as it billowed from her ears. Abby set about clearing up her workload; logging every single piece of evidence that was in her lab; both the pile she was done with and the pile she hadn't even started yet – and then there was everything else in between. When she was finished with the first part of her torturous task, she set about fulfilling the rest of Vance's order as the conversation she'd just endured with him replayed itself in her head.

"_Ms. Scuito, I am well aware that you are Agent Gibbs' favorite co-worker and that he considers you to be a valued member of his team. I am also well aware that you seem to operate under the guise that he will always be able to keep you and your behavior out of trouble. We'll get back to that in a minute" _

_Vance paused and glanced over at Abby; she was currently picking at a small, black, lace handkerchief that she had bought in with her._

"_Being a Forensic Scientist does not keep you from being expected to adhere to the same code of conduct that the rest of the field Agents employed with this agency are held to. When you are out in the field, you are expected to abide by that code of conduct without fail and without excuse. It is especially important and is there for your own safety."_

_Abby just nodded slowly and found that she couldn't look him in the eyes. She had no idea what to say to him despite knowing that, he probably deserved one. The silence drew on for a couple more seconds before Vance's voice tore through her thoughts._

"_Now, having said that, let's get back to you being Gibbs' favorite. Do you really think that what you did in Mexico is excusable? Did you think Gibbs could save you from the consequences of the choices you made while you were down there?"_

"_I wasn't really thinking about that at the time, Sir."_

"_Oh? Well, I'd be interested to know just what you __**were**__ thinking about when you decided it was okay to railroad over Agent McGee's decision for the two of you to remain at the University and not go where you had been warned not to go."_

"_I was thinking about teaching the class, Sir. I was trying to make sure they got to see the evidence. That was what the class was about."_

"_I'm well aware of what the class was about, Ms. Scuito, I am the one who signed the paperwork authorizing you to go down there and teach it." Vance shot back at Abby with a condescending, stern tone that let her know that he wasn't stupid and right about now, she was walking a thin line._

"_Yes, Sir. Sorry, Sir."_

"_Had I known that you would so blatantly and carelessly disregard the wisdom and experience of your Escort and put yourself and my agent; not to mention those students in danger of becoming hostages or worse; victims in a confrontation between a drug cartel and the Mexican government; I never would have even considered it; not for a minute!"_

"_Sir, I never meant to put anyone in danger."_

"_Ms. Scuito, when Agent McGee advised you to let the University bring the evidence to your classroom; when he reminded you in no uncertain terms, of the danger that you were proposing to risk getting into; what were you thinking? Whatever it was must have been pretty damn important for you to just blow off his warning and instruction. So, let me hear it; what was it?"_

"_No, Sir."_

"_No, what; Ms. Scuito?"_

"_No, it wasn't important." Her voice got temporarily stronger with the admonished prompt from the Director._

"_So, you're telling me that you put your life and the life of my agent in danger and then added the lives of the very students you were entrusted with to that danger; for something that wasn't even important?" Vance's anger was palpable at this point._

"_I didn't intend to." "_

_Let's be clear, for the record, about what you really thought, Ms. Scuito. You thought nothing bad would happen. You thought Agent McGee was being silly and over-protective and that was something you just weren't going to put up with. You called it being a 'party-pooper, I believe. Am I right?"_

"_Yes, Sir. Sir. I really didn't mean to put anyone in danger." The magnitude of the situation was finally starting to sink in as the conversation drew on. She knew, at that point in time that there was no getting out of this and no amount of pleading ignorance was going to help her._

"_No, I'm sure you didn't. But all that tells me, is you had no intention of taking Agent McGee seriously."_

_Abby was beyond speechless._

"_Tell me, Ms. Scuito; what does a Protection Detail mean to you?"_

"_An Agent whose job it is to protect you from harm as much as they are humanly possible."_

"_And do you believe that you are better trained for that job than the agent assigned to be your protection?"_

"_No, Sir."_

"_Then, explain to me why it is that you have treated Agent McGee as a mere nuscience to dress down instead of the trained Federal Agent on Protection duty assigned to your protection that he was; not once, but twice now."_

_Abby looked shocked._

"_You didn't think I read the reports from the Michael Mawher Case?"_

"_I didn't realize that was in there." Abby admitted quietly as one her past transgressions came back to bite her so unexpectedly._

"_Didn't realize what was in there? The full explanation of how Mawher was able to get in to McGee's apartment? Oh, that's right; you did leave some details out of your report didn't you?" The sarcasm hit her hard and she couldn't do anything but hang her head in shame when she answered._

"_A few."_

"_Right. Let's get back to the question, shall we?"_

"_I've known Tim since before he joined Gibbs' team and I don't seem to be able to separate that McGee from his Agent side."_

"_That's your explanation?" Vance's loud, incredulous tone rang through his office._

"_Yes, Sir."_

"_I'm curious, would you have disregarded Agent DiNozzo's warnings and direction the same way?"_

"_No, Sir."_

"_Hmm. Not even a slight bit of hesitation in your answer. Why not?"_

"_Tony's like my big brother. I know he'll protect me from anything."_

"_Ms Scuito, not even Superman can protect us from our own recklessness, stupidity or stubborn pride."_

_Abby was once again struck speechless._

"_For the record, Ms. Scuito, you are admitting that the reason you refused to adhere to the advice and direction of NCIS Special Agent Tim McGee, your assigned Protection Detail for the Classroom Trip to Mexico, is because you didn't trust that he could genuinely protect you?"_

"_That wasn't what I meant, Sir. I thought McGee was just there as an escort so I wouldn't be hassled by any guys down there. I didn't think I needed 'protection'. I thought I'd be safe."_

"_Doesn't matter what label you put on the assignment, Ms Scuito. Either way, he knew his job and he obviously did it to the best of his ability; despite you running roughshod over him."_

"_Yes, Sir."_

"_Tell me, what were you thinking when you refused to sleep in the room that had been assigned to the both of you. What possible reason could you have had for sleeping in your classroom? You were unprotected and showed a complete disregard for your own safety."_

"_He told you about that?" Abby was flabbergasted._

"_No, Ms. Scuito, Agent McGee hasn't told me anything other than what was in his official report; which, strangely enough mirrors yours."_

"_Then, how…"_

"_Like I've told Agent Gibbs; this chair is bigger than you realize. Now, I'd like an answer to my question."_

"_He was gonna be up sick all night because he forgot to use bottled water on his toothbrush and I needed to get a full night's sleep." Abby at least had the good grace to look sheepish at the question and looking back; wasn't hindsight a wonderful thing!, she should have stayed to support her friend the way he would have…..Her friend? Does that even stand right about now._

"_I see."_

"_I am sorry, Sir."_

"_Are you? So then you're telling me that if you had it to do over again, that you would abide by Agent McGee's direction?"_

"_Yes."_

"_Somehow, Ms. Scuito, I seriously doubt that. I also doubt that you fully appreciate just how serious this is."_

_Abby couldn't argue what she was beginning to see as a brick wall looming in front of her. A brick wall that had the power to ruin her career._

"_I am well aware that this is the first time you've had to face serious Disciplinary Action and it is unfortunate that your first time at bat comes because of something so very serious. It is also unfortunate that your actions have had serious repercussions on the otherwise promising career for the agent who was responsible for your safety on this trip. I have no choice but to impose a very serious course of Disciplinary Action on you."_

"_Yes Sir." _

"_Good. I'm glad we understand each other. You are hearby suspended for one month without pay. You will have an official reprimand placed on your file for the duration and it will remain in your file for a period of one year beyond that. If no further incidents or reasons for disciplinary action occur in that time, this will be removed from your record. Have I made myself clear?"_

"_Yes. Sir."_

"_Alright. For the remainder of today, you will get your lab in tip-top shape in preparation for your absence. You will remain at NCIS today until your lab is fully readied to be taken over by your temporary replacement. You will report back up here to me when you have completed that task and are prepared to leave for the day. I will advise you to be careful to watch what you say about his to anyone. I will not allow ill-will to be spread like scuttlebutt in this Agency."_

"_Yes. Sir."_

Now, Abby could barely contain her tears and wasn't exactly sure as to why she was crying; anger, distress; misery. She didn't know which; but hated every single part of it. Not wanting to draw attention to her emotions; she glanced over at her stereo and forced herself to turn her music back on as she worked, purely because she didn't want to draw attention to her emotions and hoped that this little sliver of normality would help. For once in her working life, the music grated on her last nerve and she found herself hating every minute of that too.

* * *

Gibbs finally dragged his eyes up from the paper in his hand and looked at his Senior Field Agent. He was torn between hightailing up to Leon's office to tear a strip off his hide for this over the top punishment or giving Tony and Ziva the answers they deserved. He settled for the less confrontational and went about the task that would, for the moment, help him possibly calm down.

He knew that all hell would break loose whether or not he let his agents in on what was going on; but they'd get in less trouble with Vance if he kept them reined in; kept it under control. Holding up his finger to get his agents to wait, he picked up his phone and hit one of the buttons.

"Yeah. Can you meet me in interrogation room 2? Now. Yeah. Thanks."

When Gibbs hung up his phone, he gestured silently for his agents to follow him. They were not gonna have this conversation out in an open arena for everyone on the floor to bare witnesses; no, he wanted complete privacy for this one. It was the least he could do for McGee. Silently, they all headed to the interrogation room. Once there, Gibbs cleared the observation room of technicians and shut off all the security cameras and recording equipment before joining his agents in the room. As soon as Ducky arrived; Gibbs launched into explaining what had happened.

While it wasn't his usual style; Gibbs knew that Tony and Ziva would keep digging until they got to the bottom of this anyway and he'd rather they heard it from him. He also knew that Ducky would want to know what had happened because he'd be worried about McGee's mental state with this harsh of a punishment coming down on his head. Gibbs also wanted Ducky's take on why McGee would choose to take this huge dent to his career rather than just give Vance the answers he'd asked for. It was such an unexpected move from McGee, that Gibbs was still feeling shocked.

When he'd finished explaining things to his team, Gibbs left them to wrap their brains around everything that they had just heard.

_Everything he'd seen in response to the news had been expected; absolute anger, disbelief, insistence that Gibbs fight this and go to bat for McGee; finally, came sheer determination from each of them, they were all driven to be there for McGee and to let him know they supported him. None of them were disappointed that their teammate hadn't just given Vance what he wanted. Then again, none of them even seemed surprised by it either. So, then, why was Gibbs the only one that seemed to be rocked by that?_

Gibbs took the stairs to Vance's office two at a time with anger and determination fueling every step. While the Director had every right to be pissed; he didn't have the right to dole out such super-sized punishment for a less than super-sized offense such as this. McGee hadn't done anything more serious; other than offer up his own life in place of all the others Abby had placed in danger. Maybe, not forcing the driver of whatever vehicle that had been taken to the site; to turn around and not take them to the site could be attributed to McGee; but it hadn't been. So, there was no official reason for this severity of punishment.

There was no way the Team Leader was gonna let his man go down like this; not without a fight. He was mentally head slapping himself for breaking one of his own rules. He had assumed that removing himself from Vance's sight would lessen the severity of his need to punish Tim. Gibbs had imagined that Vance would enforce a more stringent punishment just to flaunt his chair in Gibbs' face; expecting the Team Leader to fight him on it; and so, had removed that possibility; believing it would tone down Vance's punishments.

He had deliberately left out the 'without pay' part of Leon's sanctions against McGee when he filled his team in on where Tim had gone. Gibbs was determined that this piece of overkill on the Director's part would be an easy thing to erase. Nothing Tim had done merited him losing his pay for a month. _For cryin' out loud the man had offered up his own life for a group of strangers and the woman who'd treated him like crap when she should have listened to him!_

_Abby_. Yeah, she was a whole other ball game; one he couldn't and wouldn't worry about _just yet_. McGee and the completely unfair situation he was in; was Gibbs' priority right now. Nothing else mattered until he'd done everything he could to fix this. He barged through Vance's reception area and stormed the Director's door with a determination that killed any bit of respect the director _hadn't_ earned. Gibbs was not surprised to find Vance sitting at his desk staring off into space. Hell, If he'd just doled out the crap that this man had just done; Gibbs' would be staring off into space with regret, too.

* * *

After Gibbs left the interrogation room, three cell phones came out of hiding and were flipped open. Tony and Ziva offered tiny smiles of humor as they bowed to the realization that of the three of them, the one that Tim would most likely talk to right now was, in fact, Ducky. In tandem, the younger two people put their phones back in their pockets and waited with bated breath for Ducky to make the call they all wanted to make.

Ducky rewarded Tony and Ziva's acknowledgement by putting his cell phone on speaker and setting it down on the table that they were all sitting around as he waited for Tim to pick his ringing phone up.

"Hey, Ducky." Tim's voice was quiet and dripped with a sadness that offered evidence of what they'd expected; he wasn't alright with what had happened; in fact, he sounded downright upset and broken.

"Timothy, I've just heard what happened, young man. Are you all right?" the M.E. kept his tone calm, but injected enough concern in there to try to draw an answer out of his troubled young friend.

"I dunno. I think I'm still in shock." The shakiness of his answer gave testament to the truth of Tim's words.

"Are you driving right now?" Ducky asked with a touch of alarm.

"No. I only made it as far as the park across the river. I couldn't…..I didn't want to drive so I'm sitting in my car." Tim's response was slightly calmer.

"Oh, Timothy!" The M.E. couldn't hold back his sympathy and as he looked at the young man's anxious teammates, their shared pain and anger on his behalf was almost palpable.

"Thanks, Ducky. But, I'll be okay. I think I'm afraid to ask who told you and how much you were told."

"Jethro told us the bare facts. He said we needed to get them from him rather than force you to discuss it. He was very adamant that we leave you alone unless you wish for our company. However, I am certain that you need to be looked after because I know you Timothy and you will not take care of yourself. "

"Wow. Um. Oh. Ducky, I promise, I'll take care of myself. You really don't need worry about me."

"Nonsense, Timothy, Anthony and Ziva are also quite worried about you. They wish to speak with you and let you know they support you and want to be there for you, as I am."

"I can't drag them into this, Ducky."

"My dear boy, you aren't dragging them into anything! They want to help."

"That's just it. They can't and if I talk to them about it, then I'm putting them in the same position I'm in and I won't do that to them, Ducky. It's bad enough you'll be in that position, too, if I talk to you about it. But, then again, …"

"Then again what, dear boy? Timothy, I want you to come to my house for dinner. I would like the chance to talk to you and see how you're doing." Ducky knew that the boy wouldn't eat; he had seen it on numerous occasions when Tim was emotionally hurting over something. It hadn't really been an issue before seeing as he was slightly overweight; a couple of days wouldn't really hurt. But now that he had lost the weight and was as fit as a fiddle, there was no way he was going to let his friend drop anymore pounds.

"Thanks, Ducky. And would you tell Tony and Ziva that I **really** appreciate their support, please?"

"Certainly, young man, But, I am quite certain that they are already quite aware of how much you appreciate them. They merely wish to return the favor."

"I wish I could, Ducky. But, I can't. They still have to work on the team. See you tonight. And thank you."

As Tim ended the call and Ducky put his cell phone away, Tony and Ziva looked at each other with a silent question, _what did he mean by that?_

* * *

Gibbs returned to the squad room to find a still very pissed team trying to get back into the case files on their desks; they were trooping on like good soldiers despite their minds being elsewhere. Walking up to his Senior Field Agent, he stood at the man's desk and leaned in very close to him in order to speak to him privately.

"He's got a week to cooperate with Vance and all this'll go away, DiNozzo."

Having delivered the message he'd needed to, Gibbs headed out for coffee with his head full of the discussion he'd just had with Vance:

"_I expected you twenty minutes ago, Gibbs. What took you so long?" Vance asked as he looked over at him._

"_My team deserved some answers, Leon. They still do. __**After**__, you rescind this ridiculously harsh punishment! Without pay? A month? C'mon, Leon, you'd think he stolen from the agency, the way you're blackening his record with this!"_

"_None of this is on the books; yet, Gibbs. He can make it all go away for himself. "_

"_What the hell are you talking about?"_

"_All he has to do is tell me why he didn't include those incidents in his report and this all goes away."_

"_Incidents? As in more than one?"_

_Leon handed Gibbs a document that he hadn't yet shown him._

_After a long silent minute in which Gibbs read the document and Vance watched his face to see his reaction; the Team Leader silently sat down in one of the chairs in front of Vance's desk._

"_Any more surprises?"_

"_No. That's it."_

"_Okay. I get that you're making a point, here, Leon. You want McGee to learn from this and that's fine. You wanna suspend him for a month, I don't like it and I think it's crap but that's your call. But I __**won't**__ sit by and watch you take his pay away for doing his best to safeguard the safety of those students and Abby! It's bad enough that you're willing to ruin his perfectly good record with this. The least you can do is downgrade the severity of it! __**Give**__ him his pay!"_

"_Gibbs, like I said, this suspension isn't on the books. But, it will be, if he continues to refuse to cooperate with me. He's got one week to do so. If he cooperates and answers my questions within that week, then, this 'suspension' is only on that piece of paper he handed you. Officially, he'll have been on __**paid**__ vacation for that week. Vacation he's earned, by the way._

"_And if he doesn't cooperate?"_

"_Then I'll have no choice but to make the suspension official. But, I will lessen the severity. I'll change it to Paid Suspension and shorten it to two weeks". _

"_Just what is it you want him to learn from this, Leon?"_

"_I want him to figure out and learn that he shouldn't be willing to throw himself in front of the bus to protect someone over something that was bound to come out, anyway. Hell I don't even understand why he's protecting Ms Scuito! Everything's already out in the open so what the hell could he be protecting her from?"_

"_I don't know. But I'm gonna find out." Gibbs' fierce earnest answer shocked the director slightly. He didn't let it show on his face though and kept the cool, poker face that he had soon become famous for at NCIS._

"_Good. Get him to cooperate with me and this will go away, Gibbs."_

"_I still think this is crap, Leon. There are a hell of a lot less damaging ways to make your point. Especially with McGee"_

"_Not as definitive as this."_

"_Hope it's worth it to ya." Gibbs threw out as he snapped open the door; he stopped in his tracks and turned back around to go back into the office letting the door close behind him as he walked back across the room._

"_You have more, Gibbs?" Vance asked with a cool tone that hid his shock at Gibbs' actions._

"_What about Abby?"_

"_The same month of suspension as Agent McGee."_

"_Two completely different offenses given the same punishment?"_

"_No, Gibbs. As I've already told you, Agent McGee has the ability to change his; get it expunged. At the very least his will be downgraded. Ms. Scuito's is completely non- negotiable!"_

"_Where is she?"_

"_Hopefully, she's tidying up her workspace and preparing it to be used by whoever I temporarily assign in her place."_

_Gibbs nodded silently as he headed out_

As Gibbs walked to the coffee shop, he couldn't help but realize that for the first time since he'd first met his Forensic Scientist, he had no inclination to be sympathetic with her. Abby had created this mess and she needed to suffer through the consequences.


	6. Chapter 6

The doors of Autopsy wooshed open allowing Tony and Ziva admittance into Ducky's domain. The usually jovial M.E. was, although not in mid-autopsy, thankfully; still looking quite pensive and unhappy as he sat at his desk lost in thought.

"Ducky. We need to run something by you before you talk to Probie later." Tony wasted no time drawing the older man's attention or getting to the point.

"Why, Anthony, has something happened?" Ducky asked with a touch of concern as he came back to the here and now and looked at the Senior Field Agent.. After all, it had been but a mere 30 minutes since he and these two young people had parted company upstairs in the interrogation room.

"You could say that. Gibbs just came back down from talkin' with Vance. He gave me a message for Probie." Tony said with complete seriousness.

"Oh? It wasn't bad, I hope." The optimism in Ducky's voice was uplifting.

"He's got a week to cooperate with Vance and all this'll go away." Tony answered with concern.

"Oh, dear heavens!" Ducky softly exclaimed.

"Wait. McGee said something earlier that might help us figure out what it is that is going on here, yes?" Ziva asked as she looked straight at Tony.

"You're probably right, Ziva. Knowing Probie, he was dropping us the only clue he could figure that we'd catch."

"I'm afraid, I'm not following you. What did Timothy say that you consider to be this clue?" Ducky asked in confusion.

"He said:._"I wish I could,... But, I can't. They still have to work on the team"_

Ducky was still confused. "And from that you have deduced a clue?"

"Yeah, I'm just not sure what yet. We'll figure it out. Ducky, you think you could get him to spell it out for you when you talk to him later?"

"I certainly aim to try, Anthony. However, you must realize that if he is as intent on excluding you as he seems to be, he may very well garner my promise not to repeat any of what he discloses, back to you. If he does that, I will have to honor his wishes. Timothy's trust is important if we wish to keep him from allowing this to drive him away. I will not violate that trust."

"I know, Ducky, but we can't _not_ figure this out. We have to help him. Even if he thinks we shouldn't." Tony protested.

"Well, Anthony, I admire your determination to not only stand by your teammate, but to help him, but we can only do so much as he'll allow. Unless he gives us something to work with, I'm afraid our efforts will be in vain."

"Ducky, no one's said anything about Abby. What's the deal with her in this?" Tony asked as he suddenly thought of the need to find out the answer to this new question.

"I haven't had the opportunity to look into how Abigail is doing. I suppose now would be as good a time as any to go see how she's faring in all this."

"Not exactly what I meant, but I'm game. We'll go with you." Tony offered although not feeling nearly as charitable toward their Lab Rat as Ducky seemed to be feeling.

"Anthony, do not think to make this situation any worse!" Ducky warned.

"I promise, I just wanna see what's going on with her. We kinda need to know if we're gonna be able to help Probie, don't we?"

"I suppose we won't know that until we ascertain where things stand with Abigail." Ducky admitted.

As they reached Abby's lab, her music assaulted their ears although at a lower decibel than normal. Ziva and Tony hung back in the doorway as Ducky entered the lab and called out for a seemingly missing Abby.

"Abby?" Ducky called out cautiously.

"Hi, Ducky." Abby said quietly as she stepped out from behind her Mass Spectometrer.

"How are you, my dear?" Ducky asked her sympathetically.

"You heard." Was her only response.

"Yes, Jethro explained it to us so that we would not need to pester you or Timothy with questions about Timothy's sudden departure."

"Wait. McGee left? Where'd he go?" Abby asked in what could only be described as anger.

Tony reacted before he could stop the angry words from escaping. "Do you really care?"

"Anthony!" Ducky admonished warningly.

"Sorry, Ducky. But you can't seriously think her anger at Probie is justified!"

"What I think is NOT the point here. Neither is what you think. What is important is to get to the bottom of what happens next. Now, Abigail, I'm guessing that you have managed to hold on to your job, as you are still here…."

"Yeah, unlike poor Probie…" Tony muttered angrily.

"What? Just what are you saying, Tony?" Abby demanded as she stomped over to him.

Tony backed up and crossed his hands over his chest before he spoke to her. "Probie's been suspended for a month. We just came to see what the deal with you in all this was."

"Oh. " Abby's response came out sounding like a deflated but successfully placated balloon. Silently, she stomped back over to her computer and turned to face Ducky.

"Abby, you are pleased that McGee has been so severely punished, yes?" Ziva asked cautiously as disbelief filled her heart. _Surely, she was reading her friend wrong. Abby was usually McGee's biggest fan._

"I've been given the same. I just have to tidy up in here and get it ready for a sub lab tech." Abby admitted as she deliberately turned the question and answer session away from her feelings toward McGee.

Before anyone could say anything else. Tony's cell phone rang.

"DiNozzo"

"_Where the hell are you?" _

"With Ducky and Ziva talking to Abby." Tony answered Gibbs' irritated question in a calm quiet voice that gave evidence to how less than happy he was with what was going on.

Silence met his response.

"We'll be right up, Boss." Tony offered calmly and respectfully into the unusual and disconcerting silence.

The empty air of a phone call silently ended met his ear. Tony snapped his phone shut and looked at it silently for a minute.

"Tony?" Ziva asked in concern.

"Boss man." Tony relayed calmly.

"He is angry that we are not at our desks working?" Ziva asked with understanding.

"No. Just asked where we were." Tony answered almost absently,

"And when you told him?" Ziva pushed to find out exactly what was going on.

"Nothing. He didn't say anything." Tony replied as he looked over at Ducky across the room.

Ducky nodded in silent understanding of Tony's silent message of concern. This was very unlike Jethro which spoke volumes of how much this had set the Senior Agent's world off-kilter.

Abby , in the meantime, was feeling the heat of a re-lit fuse. Gibbs had yet to come talk to her. Hearing that he was obviously upset only sparked her ire. Usually, when he was concerned about her, he'd already have been down here checking on her. In a sudden burst of escaped venom, she spit out,

"I need to be alone! I have a lot of work to get done!"

"Certainly, my dear. Ducky answered calmly for all of them. As he silently abandoned her to the solitude she'd just demanded, Abby felt the tears returning. As the ding of the elevator gave evidence that she was once again, alone in her misery, she flopped down on her stool and gave in to her tears.

Suddenly she felt herself helped up from her stool and enveloped into a heartfelt embrace of emotional and physical support. Recoginsing Ducky, she allowed herself to cave into his support.

"Oh, Ducky!"

"Ssh. Just let it out, my dear."

* * *

As Tim sat on the park bench, he realized he would need to make another call. Luckily, at this time of day, her cell phone was always off, so he'd be able to get by with a voicemail message. For this, he felt relief. He really didn't know if he could handle actually having to talk to her right now, The last thing he wanted to do was break down on her. Just because they were dating didn't mean she needed to see this side of him.

"_Hey, honey. I'm really sorry you had to be put in the middle of all of this. I know typing up that letter had to be hard for you. Seeing me having to wait while Vance dealt with Abby couldn't have been easy either. I just wanted you to know that I'm worried about you. I'm going to Ducky's for dinner. He's worried about me and I don't want to cause him any more worry by refusing him this._

"_I'll call you later and we can talk about when I should come get Jethro from you. I don't really feel like driving him all the way back home to my apartment before coming back here to Ducky's tonight. I hope you don't mind. I promise, I'll call you later tonight. Bye."_

The problem, Tim realized, was that he had the rest of the day in front of him; it was a long time between 9 AM and dinner tonight at Ducky's. What the hell was he gonna do with himself? Feeling like getting lost in the masses for once, he settled on the idea of going somewhere that would help him occupy his mind as well as get lost in time; the Library. Once he'd made his decision, he felt calmer, felt like he could function again.

Driving to the library, Tim actually felt some of his jumbled emotions slip into the background, allowing his mind to find a sense of peace, putting all of this behind the screen of the here and now. As he parked his car, locked it and got out, he turned his thoughts to ideas of what he'd like to read; where he'd like to get lost in; fantasy; murder mystery, history; biography. All the choices were viable; but as he perused the shelves, he found himself drawn, ironically enough, to his own published book.

It had been several years since he'd even looked at any of what he'd written in these pages. The team had put him through hell over this book. Could he see it with a different perspective than the one he'd written it with? Pulling a copy of it from the shelf, he found and settled into a comfortable chair, gently removed the book jacket so that his photo was not visable to whoever happened by ; and settled into re-reading his own book.

* * *

As Tony and Ziva returned to the squad room; each going back to their own desk and immediately diving back into the cold case on their desk; neither failed to notice that Gibbs had steadfastly kept his full attention on his own work. Or had he? Tony noticed the furtive glances the boss had sent their way as they'd settled back into working. He had also noticed that Gibbs was quick to return his eyes to his work. Not a word was spoken. Tony didn't know what worried him more, what little of the pieces to this puzzle that he had to work with; or how hard this seemed to be affecting the boss.

Gibbs watched his agents come back from talking to Ducky and Abby. They were still upset, which he expected. Both of them were obviously tuned in to the fact that he wasn't himself and had silently gotten back to work without so much as a single word spoken. Yeah, this was hitting them pretty hard, of that there was no doubt. Although jumping on their case for not working was his normal way of doing things, he currently saw no reason to amp up the frustration vibrating through their work space as it was.

Ziva was still trying to process all the different facts that she'd been given and shown in the last hour. She wished she could talk to McGee, but then again, it was blatently obvious that Tony wished that, too. While she could understand Tony and Gibbs being knocked by this; she failed to understand how Abby could be so angry at McGee or seem so happy that he was being punished so severely. Even if they could get him to take the easy way out of this; and cooperate with Vance to keep his punishment down to almost nothing; he… _Wait! That was it!_ _Cooperating would be the easy way and if McGee was willing NOT to take the easy way, he had to be convinced that what he was doing was absolutely necessary! _It was yet another piece to this puzzle. She opened her email and sent Tony a message:

"_Tony;_

_McGee knows what he is doing is not the easy way out. This means whatever reason he has for not cooperating must be extremely serious and for McGee the only thing to do._

As her email was sent, Ziva diligently got her mind back on her work. Tony sent a reply promising that they'd get it figured out, but it stopped there. Ziva was somewhat disappointed, but understood. Gibbs always seemed to know when they were emailing each other instead of working and neither wanted that to come down on them; not today.

And so the remainder of the day was spent working on their case files, lunch was, surprisingly enough, delivered before they'd even realized it was time for it. From out of nowhere, two large pizza's were delivered to the squad room and sadly enough, placed on Probie's empty desk, As the delivery boy turned to leave, Gibbs handed him the money and made the announcement to Tony and Ziva,

"Lunch."

As they looked up from their work and looked at him, he silently pointed to the pizzas. Gibbs picked up his coffee cup and headed out for a refill. On his way back, he did what he'd been putting off all morning, hoping by now, that her anger would have cooled enough for him to get some answers from her.

Stepping off the elevator, for once, without a caf-pow in hand, Gibbs hoped this wouldn't get to out of hand. It had him concerned enough that he'd just called and warned Ducky of this impending conversation, wanting the M.E. to check in in a few minutes; in the off chance that things got dicey.

"Abby." Gibbs said calmly as he entered the lab.

"Gibbs." Abby answered back with bite as she turned from her line of microscopes, where she'd been checking to make sure they were aligned right and cleaned, and all of their supplies stocked and ready for use.

"How you doin?" his question was full of genuine concern, because, after all, she was still his surrogate daughter and had been for quite some time. That hadn't just disappeared because of her behavior. That wasn't the way family ties worked.

"I doubt that you're really here to ask me that. If you really cared, you would have been down here way before now, Gibbs." Abby's tone was still biting with full fledged self-righteous anger so hot it almost sizzled in the air between them.

"You're busy. I'll leave you to whatever it is you're doin." Gibbs turned to leave. _He didn't come down here to fight with her. He damn sure hadn't come down here to be talked to like this. She really was out of hand. It looked like his original thought that they shouldn't try to talk about this until another day, when things had cooled off, had been the way to go._

"No! Gibbs! We need to talk!" Abby declared in objection.

Gibbs stopped just short of the door. He turned back and took one step back toward her as he looked at her and answered her with all the authority he had in him. "No, we don't. Not right now."

"Yes, Now!" Abby said loudly as she picked up the remote to the doors and locked herself and Gibbs in her lab.

"You done?" Gibbs asked in steel laced irritation. He hated it when she took this high horse attitude with him, but knew he only had himself to blame since he'd let her get by with it for so long.

"No! No, Gibbs, I'm not! You've turned your back on me! You swore you'd never do that!" Abby yelled with unveiled anger.

"Abby. Open. The. Door. Now." Gibbs ordered in deliberately measured tones that left no doubt how fast she'd just riled his anger.

As the tense silence built in unsaid anger and other misplaced emotions, the staring contest that came with it was not pleasant. Finally, realizing she wasn't about to win this, Abby caved and meekly she clicked the remote to unlock the doors and waited for Gibbs to leave without giving her the answers she was demanding of him.

Retracing his steps, he walked up to her and reached out, and removed the remote from her hand. Looking her square on, he finally answered her question, making sure to keep his tone low but deadly serious: "Me having your back was _never_ supposed to be a license to act the way you did in Mexico."

His quiet answer to her question stifled anything else Abby had waiting to let out. Abby closed her eyes in frustration; only to find herself alone, once again, when she opened them back up.

Completely devastated, she sat back down and again gave in to tears. She hadn't missed the disappointment and look of hurt betrayal in Gibbs' eyes just now. It left her suddenly no longer angry at him because he was right. It hurt to realize he was, but Vance's words came back to join forces with Gibbs answer and between the two of them, it was the worst double edged head slap she'd never gotten:

"_Ms Scuito, not even Superman can protect us from our own recklessness, stupidity or stubborn pride."  
_"_My having your back was never supposed to be a license to act the way you did in Mexico."_

* * *

The end of the work day came early for the team. Cold cases weren't getting any warmer and everyone was emotionally on edge with what had gone on today. In hopes of giving his agents time to pull themselves together, Gibbs let them go at five. Once Tony and Ziva had gone, after sending looks of concern they didn't think he'd noticed, Gibbs remained at his desk, lost in his thoughts.

"Jethro?" Ducky's quiet question of concern pulled the younger man from this musings.

"Hey, Duck. You callin' it a night?"

"Yes, Jethro, I'm expecting Timothy for dinner."

"Good. Keep an eye on him, Duck." Gibbs left the _'for me' _unspoken but knew the M.E. understood exactly what it was he was asking for and counting on.

"Don't worry, I will look after him, so much as he will allow me to, Jethro."

"Thanks."

"Jethro, Abigail has gone. Did you by chance, speak with her before she left? I know you called me to alert me to that pending conversation, but I haven't heard from you since."

'Yeah, Duck. We talked."

"Oh? It went well, I hope?"

"No, Duck. And I don't really think you expected it to. I sure didn't"

"Well, I must admit that with Abigail being your most favored child of your four surrogates, she most likely expected your sympathy and your shoulder to cry on. I take it that is not what she received?"

"You'll let me know if McGee needs anything, Ducky?" Gibbs came back with, unwilling to get into his very brief conversation with Abby.

"Certainly, Jethro. Have a good evening." Duck took the hint and left the younger man to ponder over what little he'd just laid in his lap.


	7. Chapter 7

The day had soon started to fade to make way for the evening and at six that night, Tony and Ziva found themselves arguing as they sat outside Ducky's house in Tony's car.

"No! Tony, we must let Ducky handle this. If you really want to help McGee, then you cannot risk making him angry just because you feel the need to see for yourself that he is okay!"

"Ziva, unless we get in his face to prove to him that we're here for him, he'll lose sight of that. I know how that works, trust me; I've been there. You have too!"

"Yes, you and I have both been 'there' but that does not mean that McGee will handle our intrusion the same way. Tony! If you really MUST do something other what McGee has asked of us, then call Ducky." She insisted.

Tony looked out at the yard, darkened by twilight, struggling with leaving this alone. It didn't feel right to just do nothing. It stuck in his craw and he hated it. But, Ziva was right. If by trying too hard to help, they managed to piss McGee off, than all good intentions would be thrown out the window and they'd have an even tougher time getting Tim back. Sure, he still had his job, but after a month's suspension, would he still want to come back? That was a hell of a stigma to have on his record and Tony knew that would really eat away at Tim before too long. The kid had worked so damn hard to get where he'd gotten and done such a damn fine job of finding himself along the way. Still, the last thing he wanted was to upset things for Tim any more than they already were.

"Okay. Put it on speaker." Tony finally conceded.

"Okay." Ziva breathed out on a sigh of relief at Tony's agreement to her reasoning.

"Ducky?"

"Ziva. Is everything all right?" The M.E. asked with concern.

"Yes, we are fine. We were wondering if you could possibly get McGee to at least speak to us enough that we can hear that he is okay."

"I will ask him, however, it is his choice." Ducky sounded less than happy with the idea.

"Agreed. And thank you, Ducky." Ziva offered sweetly in hopes of lessening the man's ire.

After a tense moment of silence, they were rewarded with the sound of the voice they needed to hear.

"Guys, I'm okay. Really. Thank you for your concern."

"Probie, we wanna help, man." Tony's frustration was tangible.

"Tony, I get that. Really, I do. But you need to get what I'm saying. Look, I'll be out in a minute, all right?"

"What? How did you…" Tony started to ask before he realized that the conversation sounded in stereo, giving away the fact that he and Ziva were close. He turned towards the window and knew that Tim had looked out at them before coming to the door and opening it.

"Ducky." Tim said as he turned back toward the M.E. who was uncharacteristically hovering at his shoulder. "I still can't talk to them about this, But I don't want to be rude to them either."

"I understand, Timothy, I'll come out with you." Ducky answered as he indeed, walked out to the front porch on Tim's heels.

Tony and Ziva got out of the car and traipsed across Ducky's driveway to his front porch, climbing the stairs quickly.

"Probie!"

"Tony, you're acting like I've been missing for a month." Tim said with a small smile of appreciation for Tony's very un-characteristic show of affection.

"Yeah, well, ya know…" Tony stammered in embarrassment.

"Yeah, Tony. I get it." Tim smiled.

"McGee. You are okay?" Ziva's concern got the better of her and she couldn't help break in to ask the question she wanted answered about his well being.

"Yes, Ziva, I'm okay. Look guys, I appreciate this, Really, I do. But, you gotta know you're just making this really hard for me. I can't talk to you about what happened. I can't explain this to you." Tim explained apologetically.

"Probie, what is it you think we're asking, here? We're not asking for the details of what happened in Mexico, man. We just wanna know why you're refusing to answer Vance's questions. He told Gibbs that if you just do that much, all of this suspension crap goes away."

"Yeah, I'm sure he did." Tim said miserably as he looked away.

Tony stepped up to Tim and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Look, Tim. We get that whatever's got you taking this hard road is serious. We just want you to let us help you with it." Tim blanched slightly at the use of his Christian name; Tony very rarely used it and it gave way to the fact that the Senior field agent meant business and was seriously concerned.

"I appreciate it, Tony. But, this is exactly what I can't ask you to help me with. There isn't anything you can do to make this go away, anyway." Tim said quietly as he continued to look out at the yard, still feeling connected through Tony's hand on his shoulder.

"McGee. Don't do this alone. Let us in." Tony pushed.

"Tony. Stop, please. You're making this very hard for me. You're really not helping me."

"Which tells me you really do wanna talk about it; you've just got yourself convinced that you can't. Okay. I'll stop pushing you to open up to us if you just answer me one question."

"If I can."

"Who is it you're trying to protect with your silence?" Ziva's question hit Tim from out of the blue. As the Isreali woman came to stand at Tim's other shoulder, he jumped a little in surprise.

"Is that what this is? You're protecting someone?" Tony asked.

"That your one question, Tony?" Tim couldn't help but ask cheekily.

"Answer Ziva's question and we'll leave you alone." Tony bargained in all seriousness; knowing Tim's attempt at a joke was a ruse to cover up how upset he really was "And please, do _not _tell us that you're trying to protect Abby's job."

"No," Tim said almost in a whisper. "This isn't about _he_r job." He stepped back, losing contact with Tony's hand on his shoulder and turned to go into the house. "Thanks guys, this means a lot to me. It really does. But, I can not talk to you about it. You have your own jobs to worry about."

Tim walked back into the house and no sooner had he closed the door behind himself then he slid over to the wall next to the door, and leaned back against it, closing his eyes to keep the tears in that were threatening to escape.

"Ducky?" Tony turned to the M.E. who up until then had stood by as a silent witness only there to step in if it became necessary.

"Anthony, I do understand your need to help him, but you must do as he wishes and not push him Go on, you and Ziva enjoy your evening. I will make certain Timothy is looked after."

"Okay. Thanks, Ducky. I'm sorry, we…"

"Nonsense, dear boy, do not fret about it for even another minute, go on now." Ducky pushed.

"Good night, Ducky." Ziva said as she reached out and snagged Tony's arm and propelled him down the porch stairs and back to the car; even going so far as to open the passenger's door and urging him to get in.

As Ziva drove them back to Tony's apartment so Ziva could get her car and go home; Tony remained silent. Ziva left him to his thoughts, knowing he was trying to solve the mystery they'd just been given.

* * *

Gibbs couldn't wrap his mind around what he'd heard today.

_It was the brave actions of Agent McGee at the scene of the confrontation with Paloma Reynosa ,when he unhesitatingly and calmly offered himself up to Ms. Reynosa and her guards in exchange for the release of all the students and Ms. Scuito, which successfully brought about the safe return of all persons to the University."_

What he'd seen from the taped surveillance of the restaurant where Tim and Abby had been seen and heard having their disagreement seemed to be stuck in his head.

"_Abby no! You can't take them out there! You heard what Marco said!"_

"_McGee, Just because you're determined to be the party pooper throughout this entire trip does not mean you're gonna stop me from teach MY class the way I see fit! And I say, we need to go to the evidence!"_

_Abby, you know you could have them bring it to you! There is no reason to put yourself in danger! You can't put them in danger like this either! These drug cartels are nothing to fool around with, Abby!"_

"_Oh, Timmy, stop being such a baby. There's no way, any drug cartel is gonna waste their time on a group of college students and their teacher oh, and the teacher's pet. ! We're harmless! We're not a threat to anybody!"_

"_No, Abby! That's final!"_

"_Yeah, okay, McGee. You keep thinkin' that! And while you're busy thinking that; my students and I will be loading up into the van. Don't keep us waiting long, McGee. We have a crime scene to investigate!"_

_"Damn it, Abby; why the hell don't you ever take me seriously when I'm your protection detail? Why don't you ever listen to me?"_

Gibbs' brain stopped mid-stride. He re-ran McGee's words he'd uttered in what he'd thought had been privacy; when no one would hear him:

_"Damn it, Abby; why the hell don't you ever take me seriously when I'm your protection detail? Why don't you ever listen to me?"_

As he took in and processed just what it was Tim had actually been admitting here, Gibbs thought back over the years Tim had been on his team. His agent's verbalized frustration obviously stemmed from not just this incident but from the fact that this wasn't the first time Abby had done this to him. Which was odd because, Abby hadn't had a Protection Detail since… _Mawher! _

As he refilled his glass of bourbon, Gibbs thought back to that case. For the first time ever; a case had secretly shaken his belief that he could keep Abby safe while she worked for NCIS. Since he'd gotten to know her, he'd taken her protection as one of his top priorities since she habitually hung out with a rougher crowd than he was comfortable with. That entire situation had seriously thrown him for a loop.

So, when Mawher had made it past McGee, the one he'd trusted Abby's well-being to, it had sent Gibbs' anger and need to punish someone for the whole mess; shooting through the roof. He hadn't heard McGee out; hadn't even let him speak. He'd just taken the bare facts and literally chosen to make an example out of the young man; as if he'd been a willful, disobedient, miscreant still in grade school.

Looking back on it now, Gibbs mind conjured up the vision of Tim on his knees behind his desk as he attempted to carry on with his work. Tim had taken it on the chin; although he'd attempted to complain over some of what Abby had done to his personal things; he hadn't made an issue out of actual punishment Gibbs had handed out; had in fact, handled the time on his knees like a trooper.

In fact, McGee hadn't opened his mouth about that situation; ever again. But, he had looked downtrodden and condemned for a while after that. A demeanor which Gibbs had steadfastly ignored as he whipped his team back into shape after such a personal case had left them all feeling a little raw.

_Had McGee really accepted what Gibbs had ordered him to do that willingly? Oh had he simply internalized it all, like it had been drummed into him and shown by Gibbs' and Tony's examples_? It was more than curiosity that wanted the answer to that question, but even so, Gibbs doubted he'd get the answer to it. Drawing another sip from his drink, he let his mind return to its' wandering through the mass of facts in this case.

Ducky entered the house and was brought up short when he almost walked into Tim, who was still standing where he'd stopped to try to pull himself together.

"Timothy? Are you all right, lad?"

Without opening his eyes, Tim sighed and wiped at his eyes before deliberately looking away from Ducky. "I'm okay. Is there anything I can help you with for dinner?"

"Nothing at all, you are my guest tonight. You just come in and make yourself comfortable. I'll bring us something to quench our thirst. What would you like?"

"Please don't go through any trouble."

"Nonsense, dear boy. Now, what would you like to drink?"

"Coffee's fine. Thank you."

"Alright. I shall be right back." Ducky said as he stepped out of the living room where he had propelled Tim as they had talked.

Tim pulled out his phone to call the one person who's voice he really needed to hear right about now. *******************

"_Hey, Honey, How are you? Are you still at Ducky's?"_

"Yeah."

"_Sweetheart, you sound more upset than you did earlier, is something wrong?"_

"No. Yes, I don't know." Tim admitted miserably.

"_Honey, talk to me. What happened?"_

"Tony and Ziva came by. They were really worried. I've never seen Tony like this before."

"_Tim. Tony is your big brother and even though he'll never admit it; it's how he sees himself . Even I can see it and I've only been working there a short while compared to the rest of you guys."_

"Yeah, I know he does. It's just…"

"_You can't tell them because you don't want to see the team fall apart because of this; I get it. Tim your team is stronger than you think. But, you keeping this from them and not letting them in on something that's affecting all of them; is what will ultimately tear it apart. You need to realize that. You, of all people, know how much trust and honesty means to every single person on your team. That's what you need to focus on, Honey. Keeping that trust and honesty alive. This secret mission you're on to hold this in; is only gonna hurt you and your team; the very people you're trying to protect!"_

"I know, but it's not that simple."

"_No, you're right, Hon, it's not simple. But, you know if Tony finds out you're sacrificing your good name and your job's excellent standing for someone else's he's gonna go through the roof. If you want to hold on to any chance of staying close-knit; you need to let Tony in. He's a big boy; he can handle what he does with it without losing his job. Ziva can too. We all know she's been through much, much worse and come out on top. Besides, do you really want to risk losing her friendship in exchange for trying to protect her?"_

"But their relationship with Gibbs…"

"_Is something __**they**__ can deal with. Trust me, they're capable."_

"I don't want to say anything that's gonna change the way things are between them."

"_Timothy McGee!" _

"Aw, sweetie, you know I hate it when you get pissed at me!"

"_Then stop reacting to what I'm saying and take the time to think about it instead! You're an intelligent man so use that brain to sort through this instead of bulldozing through it without giving it serious thought! And let Ducky take care of you for tonight! I'll take Jethro to the kennel before I go in to work in the morning. You can pick him up from there. And I will call you in the morning!"_

"Thanks, sweetie. Really."

"_You're welcome, but you had better do as I said, and really think about this; all of it!"_

"I will. I promise."

"_Okay. Goodnight, luv."_

"Oh. Goodnight, hon."

* * *

"Timothy? Was that a girlfriend, perhaps? Have you found yourself someone special?" Ducky asked with interest as he entered the room with a tray holding their drinks.

"Yeah. Yeah, Ducky, I have."

"Well, I think that's marvelous, young man! Dare I ask who the lucky young woman is?"

"Only if you're willing to keep it just between us. Never mind, I would rather not put you in that position, Ducky."

"Timothy, I would be most happy to 'be' in that position, if it will enable you to have someone to talk to about it."

"Really? That would be great, Ducky."

"Good, then, by all means, tell me all about her. What is her name?"

"Pamela. Pamela Cook."

"Director Vance's Assistant?"

"Yeah. One and the same. Now, you see why I need you to keep this between us?"

"Oh, Timothy, you do tend to travel a complicated path to love, don't you?"

"Yeah, you could put it that way."

"Well, come now, tell me all about it."

"Really? Okay…"


	8. Chapter 8

Tim spent a restless night tossing and turning; his jumbled thoughts battled with each other amidst the sea of images that kept randomly surfacing. It was strange laying in a strange bed and he couldn't help but smile at the friendly, easy conversation he had with Ducky the night before.

_**Last night…..**_

"_I hope you're not adverse to a wee dram with me, my boy." Ducky walked into the living room carrying a bottle of the finest scotch and two glasses._

"_Er, Ducky. I'm driving so I don't think it'll be a good idea. Sorry." Tim looked rueful and shook his head sadly._

"_Don't be silly. I have a perfectly good guest bedroom upstairs and I would like the chance to talk to my friend." Ducky cocked his head slightly and waited patiently for Tim to answer. He could see the battle raging in the young man's head as he tried to decide exactly what to do._

"_Alright. I'll admit, it'd be nice to be able to talk and you already know my deep, dark secret." Tim chuckled and accepted the glass of scotch that was passed to him. "That and Pam kinda hinted at me about the wisdom of staying overnight so I wouldn't be alone. She's taking Jethro for the night so I don't have to worry about him."_

"_Ahh, she's got a good heart and a sound mind. So why argue with us?"_

"_I didn't want to impose. I'm relieved you know, Ducky."_

"_So am I. So…." Ducky sat down in the chair with a contented sigh and sipped at his drink "How long have you and young Pamela been seeing each other. I will admit, I didn't really see that one coming."_

"_Not long. Long enough to know we really like each other and we get on so well, but…." Tim paused and hung his head to stare at the glass that was being nursed between his two hands._

"_But? Timothy, you have the right to be happy."_

"_I am; or at least I was." Tim sighed heavily "Life with Pam is good, Ducky. Real good, but Mexico has really knocked me for a loop. I mean, what the hell is wrong wit…." Tim cut himself dead and shook his head with a deep rooted sadness._

"_But what? What is it that is bothering you?" Ducky tried to push the conversation but it was obvious that Tim had shut himself off from this particular conversation._

"_It doesn't matter now."_

"_Tell me you you succeeded in getting Pam to go out with you." Ducky asked so the conversation wouldn't get uncomfortable where Tim didn't want it to go._

_Tim settled back and started to regale Ducky with his tale. After about an hour and more than a couple of refills, Tim was feeling that warm, tingly feeling that could only be associated with a sens of being at peace._

**Present time….**

Tim finally rolled out of bed and shuffled towards Ducky's kitchen. He was expecting to find the M.E. sitting at the breakfast table sipping on a mug of the tea that he loved so much, reading the morning newspaper; he had no idea, but it was something that he had always imagined his 'Uncle' doing. Tim sighed at the pang of guilt he felt for keeping Ducky in the dark the night before and rubbed at his eyes; he really was starting to feel exhausted and knew for a fact that he pretty much looked the part as well. He readied himself to talk to Ducky about his inability to sleep in the hope that the M.E. would be able to give him something but stopped short when he finally made it tothe kitchen; he was totally unprepared for the emptiness and blanched slightly before seeing the note that the older man had placed on the table.

_Timothy:_

_Do not feel the need to rush off because you are more than welcome to make yourself at home; to be honest, I would be happy for the company. If you so wish; you could invite Pamela over for dinner and the two of you could spend some time together without fear of discovery; although I must say, I believe you are putting yourself through that particular worry needlessly and should be able to have an open relationship with little or no fear of it affecting your job. Nevertheless, I will leave your relationship in your own very capable hands; to deal with as you see fit._

_The offer for dinner stands and you must consider it to be an open invitation with no expiration date._

_Please do call me and let me know what you decide?_

_Ducky_

_

* * *

_Tony and Ziva had agreed to drive into this morning so they could talk as they grabbed breakfast before they started in to work; it had been a mutual consent that they had agreed on the night before and hoped that they would be able to sort through some of the confusion that plagued them both.

They were completely silent on the drive to the coffee shop and the mood was heavy on both their parts; it left them feeling as though they wanted to escape somewhere quiet to sort through their minds despite having the commonality that they could use to fuel the debate. They'd wanted this extra time to talk about the situation with Tim; something that neither of them tried and so, they reached the coffee shop; got out of the car and walked into the shop to place their orders. They waited with a heavy silence and accepted the drinks with nothing more than a 'thank you 'and headed out with the three drinks; one each for them and the third for Gibbs, before heading back to the car to continue with their journey. As the car ate up the few miles between that stop and the navy yard, the quietness started to be oppressive and unbearably heavy. Finally, Ziva couldn't stand it any longer.

"Tony, you wanted us to talk but you have said nothing. What is going on with you?" Ziva's exasperation was palpable.

"Just trying to figure out who Probie's sacrificing himself for. We now know it's not Abby but short of her, who the else would he do it for?" Tony said distractedly.

"Tony, McGee would sacrifice himself for anyone of us on this team and we both know this. It is no different than what you or I would do, if it became necessary." Ziva reminded him gently; she had a point and could almost hear the cogs turning in her partners head.

"Yeah, Okay. I'll give you that one but we know it's not me, you and it sure as hell isn't Abby. Ducky wouldn't give anyone a reason to sacrifice themselves for him….well, except that situation with that woman from his past; but, well, you know what I mean." Tony stumbled along with his rambling as he tried reason things out verbally.

"Yes, Tony. I do understand what you mean. If you are correct, and I believe that you are; then that leaves Gibbs as the person McGee is trying to protect. But, that does not make any sense. Why would he need to protect Gibbs? And what does Gibbs have to do with what happened in Mexico when he was not even there?"Whatever it is going on is serious enough that McGee feels as though his job is worth this sacrifice."

"Yeah, I know and that's what worries me, Ziva. Alright, we know that Probie's in trouble with Vance because he didn't include Abby's shenanigans down in Mexico in his official report. And we know that he's in trouble for not answering Vance's question as to _why _he didn't include that in his report." Tony was looking thoughtful as he tried to make sense of things out loud.

"Wait! How is it that you know exactly what McGee is in trouble for? He has not specified this and I have not heard it from anyone else." Ziva glared at Tony.

"It was on the paper Probie handed Gibbs yesterday. I've got 20/20 vision, Ziva and Gibbs wasn't exactly hiding it as he was holding it."

"Well then, the only thing we do not know is what that has to do with Gibbs' job and why McGee feels such a deep need to protect it." Ziva easily tagged onto the Tony's train of thought but before Tony could answer, his cell phone rang; cutting the discussion dead in its tracks.

"DiNozzo."

"_Where are you? Get in here, We got a case!" _Gibbs's voice barked the order into Tony's ear.

"We're 2 minutes out, Boss."

"_Good, don't bother comin' in, just meet me in the lot."_

"On it, Boss." Tony pushed his foot on the gas a tad bit harder and rushed to park the car. Ziva quickly grabbed their bagged breakfast and tray of coffees, and in record time, they soon met Gibbs out at the Agency Fleet lot.

* * *

Tim piddled around at Ducky's for a good hour before tidying up after himself and heading home; He had felt at a complete loss after a while and decided to go to a place where he would feel more comfortable. He stopped off to get Jethro on his way but once he was in the parking lot of the kennel facility; he found he couldn't get out of the car. This wasn't the first time that thoughts of owning _this_ dog brought unhappy memories and genuine hurt down on him. After all, their history was as rocky and far from normal as any human and dog's could possibly have been. But, that wasn't the entire problem; the person who had practically shoved the two of them onto each other, was the real issue at hand. And while Tim had to admit he'd been the one to cave in; when she'd bullied him into it; since then he had never really been able to look at Jethro without seeing Abby in his mind. But now; when his mind conjured up a vision of Abby it was one of her during the time she was being absolutely horrible to him and hearing her say:

"_Ok, sometimes you have to look at the reality in front of you and just accept it. You are taking Jethro. Accept it"_

At the time, he had resented having the dog that had attacked him foisted on him; he had been expected to roll over and obey Abby at all costs, leaving him feeling like a pawn in whatever game she was playing. Tim thumped his head back against the headrest as he remembered snippets of the conversations that they had had at the time.

_Flashback…  
_

"_You shot that cute little dog?"  
"How could you shoot an innocent animal, McGee?"_

"_If you think I can't distinguish the fibers from your stupid jacket from the evidence on the dog; you don't know me, McGee and right now I don't wanna know you!"_

"_Good dog…BAD MCGEE!"_

Bad McGee? He remembered wanting to shout at her at the time; he had wanted to make her realize that he was in pain after being savagely mauled by a dog hyped up on cocaine and having to drive that same dog back to the yard. But no, he wouldn't do that to her. Abby's attitude as soon as she found out that the dog had been shot; had done a complete 180 degree turn; and climbed in intensity as she'd snatched his expensive jacket to wrap the dog up in. It had climbed even further out of control as soon as he asked her if she wasn't compromising the evidence with his jacket. It was _that_ situation, that in all honesty, gave him his beloved Jethro; it was just unfortunate that it was seriously tainted by the bitterness of Abby's pushy, hurtful attitude and thoughtless comments and snide remarks. The fact that when that case was solved; Abby had conveniently acted as though none of what she'd said or done, had even happened had been a huge slap in the face.

Breathing out a huge sigh of frustration, Tim forced himself to turn from those memories and think back on his conversation with Pam earlier this morning. He smiled as he remembered her sweet voice soothing his soul just after he'd woken up:

"_Hey Honey, did you stay at Ducky's?"_

"Yeah. Thanks for suggesting it. It was nice to not have to drive home after the crappy day yesterday. Jethro driving you crazy?"

"_Of course not, Tim. You know how much I love him. He misses you though. He'll be really happy to see you when you pick him up this morning."_

"Yeah, he probably will be." Tim said quietly; his heart obviously not in it.

"_Tim? What's wrong?"_ Pam asked in concern.

"Just got a lot on my mind, Honey. Did you sleep good last night?"

"_Yeah, ready to face the day. What are you gonna do with your day?"_

"I'm not sure yet." Tim admitted sadly, he hadn't even thought about what he was going to do with himself now that he didn't have to go into work.

"_Well, hopefully, you'll use the time to think things through some more?"_

"Yes, I promise. I will. Oh, hey, Ducky's invited us to have dinner with him tonight. You interested?"

"_You told him about us?"_

"Well, he kinda walked in on the tail end of our conversation last night. And he gave me his word that he'd keep it to himself."

"_You know, I'm kind of relieved. He's a good man. Okay. Yeah, dinner together would be wonderful."_

"Great. I'll see you tonight then."

"Okay, see you then."

Even as he thought back over that refreshing conversation, Tim couldn't seem to shake this melancholy mood he'd found himself in. For the first time in ages, couldn't bring himself to even look at his dog. The kennel, thankfully had the set up that allowed the dogs out in their spacious facility's outside area, that Jethro would be just fine here and was always happy here as well.

So, instead of getting out of his car, he'd called the place and arranged to have his pet's stay extended and turned around to go back to Ducky's. He walked through the front door before sighing and took himself back to bed. He hadn't done that in as long as he could remember. But, somehow, he had no energy to do anything else. The night of tossing and turning had caught up with him and he gave in to the exhaustion that claimed him


	9. Chapter 9

Gibbs was relieved to have an active case and even more relieved that it didn't actually involve the death of someone; merely stolen goods from a Marine base and a missing Marine suspect. He was more than happy to keep things moving on an even, normal keel; as much as that was possible with two of his team members missing. And while the fact that both of those team members made up the technical greatness of his team; Gibbs still felt it easier to get through the day with something to do even if it meant having to constantly be reminded of Tim and Abby and their absences.

Every time Ziva or Tony would absentmindly talk of getting Abby or Tim to do something for the case, Gibbs wanted to reach out and head slap them, but knew he couldn't quite fault them for the way their minds worked automatically to include the others. Even so, by lunchtime, he was more than ready to break for some fresh air as he made a coffee run.

_Damn, it was gonna be a long day._

Tony and Ziva felt as though they had lost the rest of the morning; it seemed to vanish in a haze of case work, lead chasing and electronic trail tracking that Tim would ordinarily do for them; he was the person who could find this information in half the time and the two agents soon found themselves feeling his absence in more ways than one. To make matters worse, if that was possible, the person that they would turn to; Tim's backup, wasn't there to do it for them either. They knew Abby was wrong in what she did, but the fact that both of their computer geeks were suspended meant they had to do the work themselves and neither had gotten very good at it . Vance had yet to send them Abby's replacement since there wasn't any legitimate forensic evidence to be run which added to the frustration they felt every time their missing teammate's names came up in talk of how to get this or that done for the case.

"Damn it, Prob…." Tony called out to Tim when his computer froze on him mid way through one of the searches. He had automatically swiveled in his chair to face his partner and stopped dead at the sight of the empty desk.

"Tony?"

"THIS SUCKS!"

"I know it does, but there is nothing we can do about it right now." Ziva was watching him with a look of sheer exasperation; it wasn't the first outburst from the Senior Field Agent, and she knew that it wouldn't be the last; she did however, hope that they could get through the day without taking out their frustrations on each other. They were lucky Gibbs hadn't head slapped them both yet.

"Ziva, we've been doing this for hours! HOURS! We've got nothing and the two people who could do this in half the damn time aren't here. I'm tired, thirsty and hungry…."

"Then go get some lunch, DiNozzo." Gibbs walked in between their desks carrying a cup coffee. He made his way over to his desk without a second glance at his team.

"I would, Boss but we're running something that McGee would usually do and my computer has just froze up and…"

Gibbs sat down heavily with a deep sigh at the sound of Tim's name. He knew how much of an impact his youngest agent's absence would cause, what he didn't know how to do was pacify his increasingly pissed off team.

"Call the geeks to fix it and go get lunch for us all. Ziva, go with him." He watched as Tony picked up the phone and then grabbed his bag before leaving with his team mate.

Gibbs sat back in his chair gazing at McGee's desk.

"_Damn McGee, why can't you just tell us what the hell is going on in that head of yours?"_

* * *

When he hadn't heard from Timothy by lunchtime, Ducky spent his lunch hour going home to see if the young man was alright. For some reason, he had a deep rooted feeling of worry that lingered in the pit of his stomach; something that he got a little relief from when he noticed the Porche sitting in the driveway as he pulled in. It soon gave way to alarm when he felt the hood and found it to be cool; clear evidence of the boxster being parked there for a while. He walked into the kitchen half expecting Tim to be sitting there with some lunch only to find it completely empty; the note that he'd left for Tim was gone and the coffee pot that he'd set to brew for the young man this morning had been drained and cleaned out. They were clear signs that Tim had at least gotten up out of bed this morning which was a relief, but he was still feeling nervous about the fact that he hadn't received the expected phone call from Tim. It wasn't like Tim not to do something Ducky asked of him. In fact, in all the years Ducky had known the young man, this was the first time that had happened and it did not settle well in the M.E.'s 'gut'.

He carefully searched the house, making sure not to overlook any of the numerous rooms before Ducky made his way to the guest room Timothy had used last night. The door was closed, but not locked so out of courtesy, he quietly knocked on it but soon entered with concern when he received no answer. As he opened the door, he was startled to find the young man in bed sleeping with the covers all knotted up at his feet. He'd obviously showered and changed because he was wearing different clothes than the ones' he'd had on yesterday.

A fresh wave of concern had Ducky more interested in waking Tim up for some answers than letting him sleep.

"Timothy, Come, lad. Wake up." Ducky shook Tim's shoulder gently as he spoke. Tim stirred and opened his bleary eyes which made it difficult to focus until the last vestiges of sleep dissipated.

"Ah, good. Timothy, are you all right?"

"Ducky?" Tim's voice was thick with sleep and Tim couldn't seem to shake that initial confusion from waking up.

"Yes, dear boy. Tell me, are you all right?"

"Um, yeah. I guess so. Why? Is something wrong?" Tim asked as he sat up and lowered his feet to the floor.

"Well, Timothy it is after 12 in the afternoon and I have not heard from you all day. I do not believe it is normal for you to be sleeping at this time of day."

"Course not, Ducky. I'm usually at work, remember?" Tim rubbed heavily at his face and sighed.

Before Ducky could answer, his cell phone rang. He gave his young friend an apologetic look and answered the intrusive call.

"Dr. Mallard"

"_Dr. Mallard. This is Pamela Cook… "_

* * *

Abby finally rolled out of bed and into her kitchen to answer to the demands of her stomach. She had spent a leisurely morning in bed, snuggled into her favorite blanket and peacefully wrapped in a dreamless slumber. Having woken up slowly, she'd stretched to loosen the stiff muscles from where she hadn't moved in hours. She'd felt good and lay there feeling contented, with no thoughts of getting up or of anything that had happened recently. Somehow, her mind held onto the ability to seclude itself from all of that. Finally, a little before 12, her hunger demanded to be dealt with and now, as she fixed herself something to eat, she found herself beginning to filter thoughts of the last 48 hours and how she'd gotten through it.

There was one thing that her fact finding brought to mind, and that was exactly how much she missed her friends and their support; it was that little realization that made her momentarily regret her actions, but not for long enough to actually act upon them.

* * *

As Ducky stepped back from Tim to speak to the surprise caller, Tim's interest peaked.

"Yes, my dear, what can I do for you?"

"_I was just wondering if you've heard from Tim. I spoke to him earlier and he said he spent the night at your house. I was worried about him trying to drive home after everything he'd been dealing with yesterday so suggested it. Sorry if it was a bit forward."_

"Oh my dear, I agreed wholeheartedly with your suggestion and he did spend the night here. As a matter of fact, I am with him now, would you like to speak with him?"

"_Actually, I can't. I'm at work and I'm pushing my luck with this phone call as it is. Neither one of us want any more complications with our jobs, if you know what I mean. I was just wondering if you knew how he was doing."_

"Well, I believe he can best answer that for the both of us." Ducky put his phone on speaker and asked Tim again. "Are you all right, Timothy?"

Tim looked at Ducky and then at his phone before he answered. "I'm fine. I just couldn't sleep last night and it caught up with me this morning."

"_I was worried about you. You sure you're alright Tim?" _Tim smiled at Pam's worried voice and found himself wishing that she was there with him.

"I'm fine Honey. Better now that I've managed to sleep."

"_I'm glad to hear that, Baby." _Tim flushed at the use of her pet name in front of Ducky.

"Thanks. Are you still coming round tonight?"

"_Sure am. I'll be round at about 6 if that's alright with Dr. Mallard."_

"Of course it's alright, my dear. I'm sure Timothy would be glad of the company and I've already taken care of the menu. Now, I have to go back to work, I'm afraid." Ducky reached down for his phone and picked it up before pressing a button and handing it over to Tim. "I've taken it off speaker phone and I'll be back in a short while."

Tim sat looking at the phone for a moment and took it; he knew that Ducky was trying to give them a little bit of privacy and for that, he thanked him.

"Hey, Honey. Ducky's just gone to …I don't know where he's gone but it's just you and me now."

"_Are you really Ok? I'm worried; you know, I'm due some time off so I could talk to Director Vance about having the afternoon off." _Tim could hear the wavering note of concern in her voice and frowned; the last thing he wanted was for her to worry about him.

"You don't have to. Honestly I'm fine and you'll be here before you know it."

"_I want to; you need someone right about now and the Director has got meetings all afternoon so it's not like he'll need me. Let me speak to him and I'll see what I can do."_

Tim smiled at the thought of having her there with him. It was strange but for the first time in what seemed like an eternity, he had truly found someone who made him happy and didn't want anything from him. He could just be himself.

"I'd like that Sweetheart. Let me know and I'll meet you somewhere if you can get the time off."

"_I'll give you a call. I know we're probably not at this stage yet, but I think I'm fal….."_

"Me too, Pam. I'll speak to you later and we'll talk then." Tim waited for her to say goodbye and flipped the phone shut with the hope that she was truly going to say, what he hoped she was.

Tim stood in the kitchen nursing a mug of coffee. He was deep in thought and almost missed his phone beeping to let him know he had received a text message; with a smile, he read the message and made his way back to the bedroom to get dressed and ready.

'_I've got the rest of the day off. What do you want to do for the rest of the day? Love, Pam x x' _

On the way back to the bedroom, he had dialed her number with a smile and a lighter heart than when he had woken up.

"_Hi there, gorgeous. I'm all yours for the day."_

"You sure are. You have any plans for the afternoon or shall we play it by ear." Tim wanted a relaxing afternoon with her but was the perfect gentleman and left the ball in her court.

"_I need to stop off at George town park because I forgot my niece's birthday, but I thought we'd grab a coffee to go and go sit at the memorial. It's peaceful around there and we'll finally get the chance to chat."_

"Sounds good, Baby. What time can you leave because I can meet you at the mall."

Tim loved the way she put thought into things; it was just another one of the quirks that he loved about her and realized at that moment, that he was falling head over heels for the woman. Once they'd set a time, Tim rushed to get dressed. He needed to stop by his apartment anyway to get changed, but knew he could be there inside of an hour.

Half hour later, and Tim was on his way to the mall to meet Pam. He had dressed in casual jeans and a soft pullover. He looked good and couldn't help the small spark of excitement as he made his way to meet his girlfriend. That excitement was short lived though as he turned a corner and saw something that made his heart drop. He felt a heavy wave of sadness as it settled down around his gut but found he couldn't take the eyes off of what he was approaching. Suddenly, he seemed to freeze, his foot hitting the break in shock as his eyes remained locked on what he'd happened upon.

In front of him, the road had been blocked off and parked to the side was the NCIS van. The sorrow that he had felt increased at the sight and all of a sudden he felt a huge void open in his heart; a void that had previously been filled by something that he loved and cherished…_his job._

* * *

"Tony, where is the camera?" Ziva demanded in aggravation. She'd put up with his scattered brain all day and now was reaching the end of her tolerance, regardless of the fact that she understood what was going on with him. They still had a job to do.

"In the truck, I'll get it." Tony answered as he headed off to get the camera. As he approached the van, his spine tingled with something unclear and his eyes were drawn up off the ground and to a fixed point across the street. Focusing his eyes, his gut jolted when he realized what it was he was seeing; In front of him, at the roadblock, was Tim, sitting in his Porshe Boxster gazing ruefully at the scene. The sight hit Tony harshly and he felt lost as to what to do.

"DiNozzo, there a problem?" Gibbs demanded in his ear. Tony jumped slightly at the low, dangerous sounding voice in his ear.

"No Boss. Just….." He didn't hear Gibbs move but soon felt the familiar sting at the back of his head "Ow! Boss, what was that for?"

*Thwack*

"Come on, Boss!" Tony glanced at Gibbs and saw the familiar fire rouse in Gibbs' eyes "Sorry, on it, Boss." He tore he eyes away and looked over at Tim once again.

"DiNozzo, I swear that if you don't quit messing around …" Gibbs followed Tony's gaze and cut dead when he saw Tim sitting there watching them. He felt a pang of regret at the whole situation before placing his hand on Tony's shoulder.

"Boss?" Tony asked quietly without breaking his eyes away from Tim's car. If he didn't know any better, he'd swear Tim was staring back at him; but the expression on his Probie's face wasn't one of happiness to see them; more of angst that he was not an active part of them at the moment.

"C'mon, Tony. This isn't helping either of you." The boss chided with unusual compassion. "Get back to work."

Tony tried to send Probie a smile of encouragement as he turned away and got the camera out of the truck and went back to work.

* * *

Tim was pulled out of his reverie and just about noticed Tony smile at him before being pulled back to work by Gibbs. He reversed away from the road block and did a three point turn so he could take another route. He was feeling more dejected than ever and the familiar sight of Gibbs giving Tony a headslap twisted the knife deeper into his gut; _Why did the Boss pull Tony away? Didn't he want to see him? What was that look on Gibbs' face? Contempt, care, anger?_

Tim's thoughts took him to a dark place and he hadn't realized that he had been speeding down the road until he heard the sirens behind him. Groaning slightly, he pulled over and opened his window.

"License and registration please." Tim handed them over to the cop along with his NCIS ID badge; something he hadn't even noticed handing over until the traffic cop pulled him on it.

"NCIS? Huh, guess you guys are busy at the moment with that dead marine they just found."

"Sorry?" Tim was still distracted and felt oddly disconnected from the situation.

"One of my guys found him just off the road. It's a bad one. Listen, do me a favor and stick to the speed limit, I don't want to be hauling you out of a crash." The cop didn't have the heart to book Tim given the events surrounding the crime scene; he obviously didn't know that Tim wasn't working that scene and Tim didn't correct him.

"Sorry. I wasn't thinking."

"Yeah, I get that. Just take it easy alright. Sweet ride by the way." He handed Tim his badge, license and registration documents back and watched as Tim absent mindedly placed them on the seat next to him.

"Thanks. I'd better be….."

"Sure, remember, next time I'm going to book you so stick to the speed limit."

"Will do." With that, Tim closed the window and waited for the cop to walk away before turning the engine on and puling away; it wasn't until he turned the corner when he realized that he'd used his position at NCIS to avoid a ticket; hell, he hadn't really heard half of what the guy had said. He thumped at the steering wheel.

"Damn it!"

Tim pulled into the parking lot at the mall feeling as though a shadow of guilt had come to join the party of sadness that welled up in the pit of is stomach. It had got the point where he could practically physically feel that knife twisting more and more but he knew damn well, that his game face façade needed to be slipped right into place; if anything, for Pam's sake as opposed to his own. He pulled out his phone and dialed her number.

"_Hi honey, where are you?"_ Her sweet sounding voice managed to pacify his restless soul slightly and Tim felt himself starting to relax.

"Hey baby. I'm in the lot now, where can I meet you?"

"_I'm just sitting outside 'Fire and Ice' waiting for you."_

"I'll be there in five." He stepped out of the car and locked it up before turning and walking towards the mall. He didn't hang up the phone but kept talking to her on the way to the rendezvous point.

"Turn around." Tim saw her turn and grinned broadly at the sight. She looked, for lack of a better word, stunning in an ankle length, jade green maxi dress which was accented perfectly with a white jacket and a Jade necklace. Her black, soft curls sat on her shoulders and framed her beautiful, oriental face perfectly; something that Tim would never get tired of looking at.

"You look beautiful." Tim leaned down and planted a chaste kiss on her soft, sweet lips.

"Why thank you, Mr. McGee. I must say you're looking mighty handsome yourself." She raked her eyes over his body and Tim couldn't help but chuckle at her comment. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close for a brief moment.

"You alright, honey?"

"Yeah. I just…..it doesn't matter. Where do you want to go first?" She pulled away at his comment and was currently gazing into his expressive eyes. They were far away and dull; a look that didn't really belong in that normally bright, energetic green sea that she so often got lost in.

"Honey, talk to me." Pam cupped his face with both her hands.

"Not here. Come on, we've got some shopping to do." He pulled her hands down and kissed her forehead gently. "we'll talk when we're done here, okay?"

"Okay. Can I go in Fire and Ice. I've seen these cool earrings that my niece would love."

"I'll take you anywhere you wanna go,Baby. You know that." Tim's accented his words with a loving circle on the back of her hand.

"I know you would and that's one of the many reason's I love you so much." Tim's eyes widened at her comment but she was too busy pulling him towards the shop to notice. It was at that moment when he knew for certain, that he had fallen in love with her and wanted to make her as happy as he possibly could.

Tim left Pam browsing the store and stood in front of one of the large display cabinets looking over the contents. One of the items jumped out at him and he couldn't help but grin at how perfect they would look on Pam; _too soon? Have we reached this place in our relationship where she'd accept and not feel as though I was being too forward? _Tim shook the thoughts out of him mind and glanced back at his girlfriend, she wasn't looking so he called over the clerk and bought her a gift that he hoped she would truly love.

Once he had the box secured in his pocket, he made his way over to Pam.

"You look like you can't decide." Tim wrapped his arms round her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"What do you think of this? I like it but I'm not sure whether or not she will." Pam held up a yemenite art flower bracelet.

"I think it's pretty. If you like it, then she's bound too because you have similar taste."

Pam handed the bracelet back to the clerk with a smile.

"I'll take it. Oh, can you gift wrap it please?" The clerk grinned back and walked away to wrap the bracelet up.

"Where did you go?" Pam's hand rested on top of Tim's and he felt her fingers lace with his.

"Just over there looking. You still want to go and talk when we've done here?"

Pam turned in his arms and pulled his head down for a kiss.

"Of course I do. You've got things on your mind that you need to get out I want you to be happy; something you won't be until you lose that weight that's sitting on your shoulders. I'm here for you Tim and I want you to be able to talk to me when you need to."

Tim kissed her again and felt the bond of love travel up his spine and warm his heart.

"That goes both ways you know."

"I know, honey."

"Ur…Sorry, here." Tim pulled away and got his wallet out. Pam looked at him with confusion until she turned and saw the clerk standing there watching with a look of sheer amusement on her face.

"You put that away, Tim. I've got this." Pam tried to grab the credit card out of Tim's hand but was unsuccessful. He finally managed to hand over the card to pay and laughed softly.

"I've got it. You can buy the coffees." Pam chuckled slightly and hugged him close. She could hear his heart beating under her ear and almost melted into the touch.

"Thanks…" Tim took the small bag and rubbed at his girlfriend's back. "You ready?"

"Always."

Pam sat on one of the steps to the Washington monument sipping on her coffee. She had her head resting perfectly on Tim's shoulder as they sipped at their coffee.

"You know, it's really peaceful around here. And it being in the middle of the day, we shouldn't have to worry about being seen by anyone from work."

"You're right about that And it is beautiful, especially when you get nice weather like today." Pam agreed with a smile "You okay?"

"Yeah….No...….I don't know. I just feel lost at the moment and even though I know the suspension is temporary, I can't help but feel as though my job is gradually slipping away from me."

"It's not. They just want to know who and what you are protecting. I have to admit, I'm wondering the same thing." Pam grabbed his hand and held it loosely in her own.

"Is that what everyone thinks?" He felt Pam shrug against his shoulder.

"It's what I think. I can't speak for anyone else."

"I'm not protecting anyone, not really it's…I just don't know how to say what I need to say without hurting people." Tim's earnest answer got her attention and she found herself wanting to look at him whilst he told her what was on his mind. She sat up and moved so she was kneeling in front of him with both her hands resting on his thighs.

"Talk to me, Honey. Let me in. I know it's hard because I work for Director Vance, but I'll never betray your trust and go to him."

"What? Pam, that is one thing that will never be in question, baby. I know you won't do anything like that. It's just hard, you know? I don't want to put you in a bad position with him."

"I know, but you need to talk, otherwise it's going to consume you and I've seen it happen a couple of times, where you have closed off to people. You don't have to do that now."

Tim smiled and glanced down at her hands; he loved the closeness that they shared and knew that it just somehow felt right having her in his life.

"Thank you. Have I told you how much I love spending time with you…how much I love you?" There it was; the declaration that he wanted to make so desperately but didn't want it to ruin something so precious.

"I love you too, Tim. I have for a while but didn't know how to say it." Tim glanced up at her with a look of surprise in his eyes.

"We make a pretty pair don't we. We've both been feeling the same way for ages and haven't told each other how we feel." Tim was cut off by Pam rising on her knees and kissing him deeply. He had no idea how long they stayed there for, but the kiss turned into something beautifully right and he felt a pang of regret when she pulled away.

"So, Special Agent McGee. How about you tell me what's on your mind." Her eyes were playful, but there was a hint of sincerity there that made Tim want to bare his naked soul to her.

"It's silly, I guess. It's just that…when we were in Mexico, Abbs started acting weird."

"That I do know. What I don't know is what it is that is driving you crazy."

"Gibbs." Tim's one word answer confused his girlfriend.

"Gibbs? You said he was her champion. Is that what yo're talking about?"

"Yeah. Abby's always been his favorite; in his eyes she can do no wrong. Who am I to throw a spanner in the works by complaining about what she did? " Tim's expression darkened as the memories of what happened in Mexico filtered in.

"That's what you are keeping out of your report? I had no idea it was this serious!""

"Yeah. It is. This isn't the first time I've had to pay the piper on her account. How do I tell them that the reason _why_ I didn't tell them was because I didn't think anyone would believe me? She's his golden girl which makes it difficult to say anything bad about her."

"Oh baby. That's not fair and you know it, you should be able to turn to your boss when you need too. You have to say something because it's going to go on your record otherwise."

"I can't, Pam. I just can't. It's bad enough that they found out but now they're not gonna care that I was too worried about Gibbs blaming me for Abby's shenanigans getting out of control down there to call him about what happened or report it at all. But, that's it in a nutshell."

"Oh, Honey."

"Trying to that to Vance without making Gibbs look bad is not something I know how to do. I refuse to tarnish Gibbs' name by getting Vance on his tail for that favoritism." The hurt in Tim's voice was palpable. "I don't know how to fix this except to just take what Vance has doled out."

"You can find a way to fix this that doesn't include sacrificing your good name like this! You have too! Please baby, don't let this get you down like this, at least promise you'll continue to talk to me when you need too. I can't help you if you bottle it up. Promise me you won't do that anymore."

"I promise and I'm sorry. I know it's not easy being in the position you are in and I appreciate you listening to me." The look on Tim's face brought tears to her eyes, there was still something lurking in the depths of his soul that he just wasn't ready to talk about; something that she would respect and wait patiently until he finally, truly ready.

"I'm always here and I know that there is something else that you are not ready to talk about playing on your mind. Whatever it is, I'm ready to listen when you want to talk."

"Thanks. Oh, er….I bought you something back at the mall. I hope you like them." Tim pulled the small box out of his jacket and handed it over. He watched her expression as she opened the box to reveal the white gold, diamond hoop earrings he had bought for her. He remembered standing in the store looking at them and judging by the look on her face, it was money well spent.

"Tim...Oh, honey! They're gorgeous! You shouldn't have spentt…" Tim cut her off with a kiss and wrapped his arms around her.

"You're worth it. Thank you." Pam pulled away and looked at him with a confused look on her face.

"What for?"

"For just being you; for accepting me for who I am; for loving me. There are so many things I want to thank you for but we'd be here all night if I tried to list them all." He chuckled slightly and pulled his girlfriend close to him once again. "I love you, Pamela Cook."


	10. Chapter 10

_A/N : Please forgive the delay in an update._

_On behalf of my wonderful Co-Writer -Let's all hold Shelbylou in our prayers as her family searches for her missing niece._

_This chapter is dedicated to Shelbylou- for all her hardwork and brilliance - even when going through a very difficult time._

* * *

Tim was sitting behind Pam, one step up at the Washington Monument. He had both of his arms draped over her shoulders and his chin was resting on the top of her head. To the other visitors, they looked like a couple deeply in love and to be honest, they weren't wrong. Tim tightened the hug and kissed the top of her head.

"It's getting late and we can't leave Ducky waiting."

"I know. It's just so pretty." Pam glanced at her watch and sighed. "We should be going. It's coming up to five." She felt Tim chuckle above her and laid her hand over his. With an accidental symbolism, she realized that she had grabbed the hand that Tim held over her heart.

"Come on then. Can we stop off and grab a bottle of wine on the way?"

"Good idea." She stood up and offered Tim her hand which made him laugh even harder "What? It's an equal op's relationship, right?"

Tim didn't know whether it was the twinkle in her eye or the playful grin that lit up her face, but he had the sudden overwhelming urge to lean down and kiss her; well, why ignore it? He leaned down and kissed her sensually before pulling back and groaning when his cell phone rang.

"Someone has got _really_ bad timing." He unclipped it from the holder on his belt and frowned when he saw who was phoning.

"What? Tim, honey, who is it." Tim diverted the call and smiled at her.

"No one important, baby. Come on." He laced his fingers through Pam's and guided her towards the car. "So, any preference on wine?"

* * *

Ducky pulled the lamb out of the oven and inhaled the delicious aroma. It was one of his favorite meals and he smiled happily when he put it down, he saw that the potatoes had roasted to perfection.

"Ah, Mother. I will admit, you taught me well."

He chuckled to himself and grabbed the prongs to lift the joint of mean out of the pan to move it onto a cooling rack. The meal was very nearly ready and all that was left to do was prepare the gravy and put the steamed vegetables into a serving bowl. He had no idea why, but he wanted this to be perfect for his young guests and had even pulled out his best china for the occasion. He had just started to put the potatoes into the serving dish when his front door bell chimed.

"Coming." He rushed to the front door and opened it with a grin when he saw Tim and Pam standing there with matching smiles. Tim had his arm draped casually over Pam's shoulder and Ducky felt his heart melt when he saw the way she leaned into him. "Timothy, Pamela, please do come in."

Tim moved his arm down and gently guided Pam in with a touch to her back.

"Dr. Mallard. Thank you so much for inviting us to Dinner. It was a lovely surprise." She reached out and handed him a bag with three bottles of wine in it. "We weren't sure what you were cooking so we bought a bottle of red, white and rose."

"Thank you, my dear." Ducky moved closer so he could loudly whisper; the action amused Tim no end seeing as Ducky looked as though he was going to reveal some huge secret "And you can call me Ducky."

"Ducky it is then." Pam giggled and accepted the kiss on the cheek from the M.E.

"Do you need any help?" Tim already knew the answer but felt guilty or making Ducky do all the hard work.

"No, no, Timothy. Everything is quiet under control but thank you. Tell you what, why don't you break open the red wine and let it breathe. I believe the white would make a perfect appetizer before we eat."

Tim and Pamela followed Ducky into the kitchen to open the wine and Pam's eyes widened at the delicious smell that met her when she entered.

"Oh that smells heavenly."

Ducky stilled at her comment and frowned. There was one thing he had forgotten to ask the oriental woman and he was kicking himself for it. He forgot to ask her whether or not she had any religious restrictions on her diet.

"Oh no. My dear, I must apologize because I forgot to ask about whether or not you follow a special diet." The hangdog look on Ducky's face made her frown slightly.

"None at all. My family is originally from China but its split with their religions. Half of my family is Buddhist and the other half are Christian. I'm from the latter set so I have no restrictions on what I eat at all; I have to admit, Lamb is my favorite." She grinned as Ducky's face visibly relaxed and started to laugh."Thank you, though. I appreciate the thought."

"Ah, yes. Well it was a wee bit late but, all is well. Thank you, Timothy." He accepted the cool glass of wine that Tim passed over and drank in the aroma before taking a sip. "Hmm. That is good wine, Timothy. Which one is it?"

Tim looked at the bottle and read the label.

"It's the Cakebread Cellars Chardonnay. Pam said it was a nice wine so we bought it."

"That's an expensive wine, Timothy. You shouldn't have paid that much for …."

"It's my fault, Ducky. I was going to buy it but Tim being the perfect gentlemen he is, stopped me….._again!" _Pam put on a faux affronted look and pouted slightly.

"I….We….." Tim started to stutter slightly and narrowed his eyes playfully when Pam poked her tongue out at him. "Hey." He walked over to her and put his arm around her shoulder.

"What? I can have a little fun." She accepted the proffered glass of wine and grinned up at her boyfriend.

"Yeah, you can."

Ducky noticed how Tim was practically beaming with happiness when he was with her and felt his heart warm at the sight. It was about time this young man had some degree of happiness in his life despite the trials he was suffering at work at the moment. He let the relaxed, contented look on Tim's face wash over him and thanked which ever deity his friends prayed to for their happiness.

"Why don't you two go and make yourselves comfortable in the living room and I'll let you know when the food's ready."

"You sure, Ducky? I don't mind helping." Tim was sincere in his offer and the M.E. beamed at the politeness of his young friend; it truly was a rarity these days.

"I know you don't, Timothy, but tonight you are my guests and there really isn't much to do."

Tim and Pam thanked Ducky and walked into the living room hand in hand.

_Maybe things will be alright for Timothy after all…._

* * *

Gibbs sat at his desk going over the reports that Tim and Abby had filed; they didn't suddenly change, they didn't suddenly fill the gaps that needed to be filled; No, with every sweep he found himself getting angrier. He threw down the file with frustration and huffed out a sigh before sitting back in his chair to look at his two agents. It had been a long day; too damn long and the fact that they'd be dealing with a TAD in the forensic lab weighed down on him heavily.

"Da'vid, DiNozzo. Go home! There's nothing else we can do tonight." He glanced at his watch and noticed that it had turned seven. "Go grab something to eat and get some rest because my gut's telling me it's gonna be a long day tomorrow."

"Boss?"

"I don't know, DiNozzo. If I did I'd tell ya. It's just a gut feeling."

"Aww come on, Boss. It won't be that bad. Positive thinking." Tony tried to sound upbeat but it feel on deaf ears where Gibbs was concerned.

"Damn it. We've got a dead marine and a load of evidence that is gonna be processed by someone unfamiliar with the lab. Vance is apparently without a P.A. for a couple of days which means he's gonna be like a bear with a sore head AND WE'RE A MAN DOWN!" He didn't mean to take his frustration out on his team, but tiredness and the stress of the day had finally caught up with him. "Just…Just go home."

"On it, **B**oss." Tony reached down and grabbed his backpack from where it sat on the floor.

"Gibbs. Is everything alright?"

"Fine, Ziva. I'll see you tomorrow; bright and early."

Tony and Ziva left leaving a trail of 'G'night boss' and 'Lilah Tov' from Ziva; a greeting they had long started to recognize as goodnight in her native tongue. Gibbs watched them as they disappeared into the elevator and shook his head. _What the hell is going on with Abby and McGee and why is Tim hell bent on sabotaging his career?_

The answer eluded him and so he sat there for another hour contemplating his next step; one that had to be considered carefully if he wanted to find out where exactly the problem lay.

"You still here, Gibbs?" Vance's calm, controlled voice travelled down from the balcony above the squad room.

"Nope."

"Yeah, I can see that." The Director started to move down the stairs.

"Why ask then?" The question was more rhetoric and made Vance smile slightly.

"I like to state the obvious. Gibbs, Abby's temporary replacement will be here in the morning. I now you have a case at the moment, but I'd like to give them time to adjust to their environment."

"You have got to be kidding. It's a lab Leon; what the hell do they want, a grand tour?" The request confused Gibbs and he was left wondering what the director had up his sleeve.

"It's a strange lab and they need to get acclimatized. An hour Jethro, that's all I ask."

"Fine, but that's all you're gonna get."

"Try not to alienate them please. It's not good for relations." Vance turned and walked away, but called out over his shoulder. "Go home, Gibbs."

* * *

Tim carried everyone's glasses out into the kitchen and started to prepare the coffee. They had all had a fantastic relaxed evening full of relaxed conversation and a lot of well needed laughter. He had left Ducky regaling Pam of his college antics and found himself in need of something other than wine to drink.

"It's a good job we dropped the car off at your place." Pam came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Amen to that. It's been nice this evening." Tim paused slightly and chuckled. "And a relief that someone else knows. Why can't we just come out and tell people? I mean, it can't be that bad can it?"

"Two reasons…._at least._ Honey, my reason is the Director and your reason is rule 12. Come on, not yet alright?" Pam pulled on Tim's arm so that she was facing him. "Soon."

"Promise?"

"Always. Now, Let's have coffee and we'll get a cab back to your place. Hope you don't mind me staying the night."

"Mind? You know you're always welcome, though Jethro is at the kennel and we both know that's who you really come to see." Tim winked at his girlfriend and grinned broadly. They had fallen into a comfortable, non-sexual relationship and Pam had stayed the night on one other occasion; that night, they'd spent the night talking and cuddling before it all got too much and the fell asleep entwined in each other's arms. They had woken up like that and spent a lazy day watching DVD's and enjoying each other company. Hopefully, tonight would be the same because Tim felt nothing but love and respect for the woman that he was fast falling head over heels over.

"Who can resist the puppy dog eyes? When he gives you that look, then you can't help but love him."

"If that's all it took…" Tim shook his head and chuckled before turning back to the coffee. "You want tea or coffee?"

"What kind of tea?"

"I have many types my dear. It depends on my mood. I favor Earl or Lady grey but do have some Assam In there too." Ducky had walked into the kitchen and smile at the two of them.

"Lady grey sounds good. I'll have one of them please Tim." Tim turned to grab the box out of the cupboard but it was on the top shelf and difficult to reach. As he was stretching up, his cell phone chose that exact time to ring.

"Urgh, why is it always at inconvenient times. Can you get that, Babe please?" Pam reached forward and grabbed his phone. She didn't look at the caller ID and simply answered it.

"Agent Timothy McGee's phone. How may I be of assistance."

Tim turned and shook his head at her and noticed the frown.

"Who was it?" he asked.

"I don't know, they hung up." She scrolled through the received calls but came up with nothing seeing as the caller withheld their number. "If it's important, they'll ring back."

"Aha, got it. Tim leaned back with the box of tea in his hand. "Yeah, I can't see it being important at this time of night. Probably Tony trying to wheedle information. You want tea, Ducky?"

"Yes please. So, did you drive over, Timothy. I only ask, because you have had too much to drink to get behind the wheel."

"Nah, I dropped the car off at my apartment and we caught a cab. We thought it might be best."

"Quite, Timothy. That was a good idea. Now how about that tea?"

* * *

Tony and Ziva had all they could do to drive back to Tony's and crash. Worried about her level of exhaustion, Tony insisted Ziva crash on his couch after she'd refused to take his bed and let him take the couch.

"Goodnight, Ziva." Tony said as he turned on a small nightlight and headed to his room.

"Good night, Tony. Maybe tomorrow we should check on McGee, yes?" Ziva said sleepily as she settled into the couch.

"Yeah, we'll do that." Tony answered guiltily; realizing that she'd just fingered the missing piece from the puzzle of why everything seemed off today. While he'd felt that 'twinge' of it being an off day every time McGee's name came up; and even when Abby's name came up; this simple question from Ziva seemed to finally fill in the definition of 'why' this day had been off balance.


	11. Chapter 11

_Two days later…_

_Trust.  
Trust is sacred,  
The team was built on earned trust._

Tim's mind seemed stuck with those three statements on constant replay when he woke up the next morning. He lay in bed quietly trying to push away the last vestiges of sleep and thought back to the last couple of days he had spent with Pam; if truth be told, he missed not waking up with her wrapped in his arms and reached out one arm to the empty space beside him. He had no idea how long he lay there, but he didn't move a muscle and let his mind to go where it wanted to for the first moments of wakefulness. The first thing that seemed to filter into his sleep fuddled brain was Pam's advice about trust that she had offered freely as they talked.

"_Tim your team is stronger than you think. But, you keeping this from them and not letting them in on something that's affecting all of them; is what will ultimately tear it apart. You need to realize that. You, of all people, know how much trust and honesty means to every single person on your team. That's what you need to focus on, Honey. Keeping that trust and honesty alive. This secret mission you're on to hold this in; is only gonna hurt you and your team; the very people you're trying to protect!"_

"_You know if Tony finds out you're sacrificing your good name and your job's excellent standing for someone else's he's gonna go through the roof. If you want to hold on to any chance of staying close-knit; you need to let Tony in. He's a big boy; he can handle what he does with it without losing his job. Ziva can too. We all know she's been through much, much worse and come out on top. Besides, do you really want to risk losing her friendship in exchange for trying to protect her?"_

"But, their relationship with Gibbs…"

"_Is something __**they**__ can deal with. Trust me, they're capable"_

Tim sat up suddenly when he realized that Pam's advice possessed the common sense that was desperately wanted in this situation and was something that he needed to do, listen to and do something with. He'd lived under the mushroom cloud of self-doubt, deeply rooted in the belief that he never measured up, for so long, that having someone else not only understand exactly where he was coming from, but encouraging him to stand up for himself and to fix the problem instead of tucking it away from the light of day, was taking some getting used to.

Still, he'd feel better about his sudden desire to unburden his worries to Tony and Ziva if he ran it by Ducky first. After all, Ducky was the epitome of discretion and would be able to avoid any trouble by keeping what he was told to himself. In fact, over the years, apparently, each successive Director counted on the M.E. to act in that capacity of unofficial confident, without them even realizing that they had done so.

Decision made, Tim lay there and thought back to the night before last; the very night that Pam stayed over and the two of them talked nonstop until the small hours of the morning before going to bed and falling asleep wrapped in each other's arms. Somehow it had just been so right doing that and Tim found himself wishing that they could fall asleep like that every night; bodies entwined and both joined by something that superceded the physical needs…., _Love._

It was a deep rooted respect for each other that made them content with the others company and at this stage, they wanted nothing more than to simply spend time with each other. Yesterday though, Pam had to go home and Tim found his bed too large and strangely cold. He sighed heavily and got out of bed to get showered and changed before picking up his cell to make the calls he needed to in order to set the ball in motion. He'd deliberately left the situation alone and left his teammates alone for the last two days figuring everyone needed the space to breathe.

"_You have reached the voicemail of Dr. Mallard. I apologize for not being able to answer your call at the moment. Please be so kind as to leave your message and a way for me to return your important call. Thank you. "_

"Ducky, its Tim. Can you give me a call when you get this? Don't worry, it's not an emergency or anything, I just need to talk to you so I need to find out when would be a good time for you. Thanks."

Disappointment flooded through him at not being able to talk to Ducky whilst he had the courage to do so but still managed to hold on to some hope of fixing things. Not to be discouraged from what he was doing, Tim tried to call Pam.

"_You have reached the voicemail of Pam Cook. I'm sorry I'm not able to answer your call right now. Please leave your name, number and a brief message and I'll return your call as soon as I can. Thank you and have a great day."_

Biting down on his frustration, Tim left her a message.

"Hey, Honey, it's me. I've decided that you're right about talking to Tony and Ziva but I want to talk to Ducky, first, though. And that's not because I don't have faith in your advice because you know how much I need Ducky to know exactly what's going on before I talk to the rest of them, for their sakes as well as my own. I love you and I wanted to thank you for some of the best times I've ever had. I have to admit though that even though we've had some fantastic times in the last month; these last two days with you have been more special than anything and for that I thank you. I love you and will talk to you later. Bye."

With frustration mounting, Tim suddenly felt like he needed to take this one last shot at getting through to someone, even if it was just to tell them he'd call them back later.

"_Hi, you've reached the voicemail of one very special Anthony DiNozzo, Jr. I'm not able to answer your call right now. Please leave your name, number and the reason for your call and I'll call you back as soon as I can."_

"You've **got** to be kidding me!" Tim muttered whilst waiting for the beep that told him he could leave his message.

"Hey, Tony. We need to talk. But, I need to talk to Ducky first, all right? Can you clear your schedule so we can talk as soon as I've talked to him? Oh and will you tell Ziva, I'm not trying to keep anything from her, I just need to talk to you first. Thanks. Bye."

Tim felt dread rise up within him at what he had to do next and wanted nothing more than to sink further and further into his mattress as he sat there thinking about the phone call that he had to make.

"Well, I might as well get this next part over, while I'm at it."Tim told himself and hit yet another button on the phone. Now was the time to bite the bullet and so he prepared to rat himself out about the traffic ticket he'd skated free on by using his position with the Agency.

* * *

Gibbs' nerves were on edge and were currently sitting on par with his anger; both emotions left him hanging on to his temper by the tips of his fingers and it was something that left him silently seething to himself. This new case that had just been dumped on them, in addition to the one they were already working, made him less pleasant to be around than his usual stressed out self and as the team barreled down the freeway after the lunatic who'd decided that running from the feds was a smart idea; his cell phone rang.

"Damn it!" He angrily snatched up his phone off the dash and curtly answered it without looking at the caller ID like he usually did.

"Yeah. Gibbs."

"_Boss, I need to talk to you about….."_ Tim started to say quietly.

"Not, now, we're in the middle of something important." Gibbs snapped out and abruptly cut Tim off mid-sentence as he ended the call by snapping his cell phone shut. His frustration mounted to an unmanageable level and he tossed his phone to Tony who caught it and out of sheer curiosity, tried to check the most recent call.

"DiNozzo, what the hell are you doing?" Gibbs demanded question seemed to echo through the car.

"Boss, that last call…"

"Does it look like I have time to talk to anyone right now?"

"Did you know who it was?"

"Nope. It sounded like McGee." Tony and Ziva were jolted sideways as Gibbs turned sharply. Tony fumbled with the phone as the movement made him lose his grip momentarily.

"Oh, God." Tony said with worry when he finally managed to stop the phone from dropping on the floor and checked the information on the phone. The recent call log blatantly showed that his Probie was indeed the last caller. "Yeah, Gibbs. It was."

"What's your point?"

"McGee finally reached out to you." Tony spelled out quietly as the ramifications of that action was left hanging in the air between them.

"Not exactly the right time for this conversation, DiNozzo. In case you haven't noticed, we're kinda in the middle of chasing this dirt bag down." Gibbs bit out angrily as he sped through the roads of Washington DC as if he was on a racetrack. The knowledge that Tony was right and Tim had finally reached out to him unsettled him further and he found himself feeling less than happy at this sudden turn of events. Gibbs knew that with his luck, he'd just pushed Tim further away than he already had which was the last thing Gibbs wanted or needed.

* * *

Tim had to stop himself from hurling his phone across the bedroom as his anger rose. He shut his phone and dropped it onto the bed before going down to the living room and plopping himself down in his chair. As he sat there thinking about what had happened, he found himself staring moodily into nothingness as his previous flare of optimism and resolution evaporated completely leaving nothing but frustration and pained resignation in its' place. _Who was he kidding? Nothing ever fell into place this easily for him; with the exception of dating Pam of course; that was quite possibly the only thing that was going right in his life. He realized now, more than ever that even his relationship had been a fluke and he'd most likely wind up doing something stupid to screw that up too. _Curling up in a ball of sheer abject misery, he drifted off to sleep, unaware that he'd even been tired in the first place.

"Call him back." Gibbs softened his tone as guilt began steadily pouring in. Tony was right, it couldn't have been any worse between himself and Tim; especially with this miscommunication that lingered between them now.

Tony hit the redial button for Tim's number and listened to the continued ringing before the voicemail kicked in.

"_This is Tim McGee. I'm sorry I can't take your call right now. Please leave your name and number and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks for your call."_

Tony could kill his boss for ignoring that call; sure there was a valid reason but he could have just told his Probie that he'd call him back as soon as he could rather than being waspish with the man. He bit back his temper and left a message.

"Probie, Boss man was driving when you called just now and we're chasing a psycho Mario Andretti, but he said to tell you he's sorry about the miscommunication that just happened between you two. He wants you to call him back later on, when we've had time to work on this case and get back to the office, all right? Call me too, man because I'm kinda worried about ya."

Tony snapped the phone shut and set it down in the cup holder between him and Gibbs. He didn't look at his boss and sat watching the scenery whoosh by as they raced to catch the perp. He was struck by a nagging feeling that wouldn't let go and reached into his pocket to pull out his own phone. He could feel Ziva's eyes on him from where she sat silently in the back seat but ignored her questioning eyes burning into the back of his head so he could check for any messages that might have been left. The reason for the nagging feeling was simply a case of it had dawned on him that he hadn't heard from Tim like Gibbs just had. For some reason, he had started thinking he'd missed his friend's call even though he had it set firmly in his mind that he was working with wishful thinking that Tim would try to reach out to him and let him in on what was going on in that super brain of his. The surprise as finding a missed call from Tim was soon replaced by a harsh irritation.

"Damn it!" Tony muttered and lowered the open phone down to his lap.

"Problem, Tony?" Ziva asked with a touch of concern. Had the topic he and Gibbs had just been discussing been anything different than what it had been, she would have been making fun of him about his attitude. But, this situation was far from funny and the fact that Tim had been the only one to show her any kind of respect when she started sparked a deep set sympathy for her friend.

"Guess my phone volume was down too low, don't know how the hell that happened but I just missed a call from McGee." Tony said as he absently as he hit the speakerphone button so Ziva could hear what Tim had to say as well. She'd been just as worried about him and it seemed only right that she be privy to what he had said.

"_Hey, Tony. We need to talk. But, I need to talk to Ducky first, all right? Can you clear your schedule so we can talk as soon as I've talked to Ducky? I'd really appreciate it. Oh and will you tell Ziva, I'm not trying to keep anything from her, I just need to talk to you first. Thanks. Bye."  
******_

As Tim's voiced message resounded through the car, the three of them quieted down. It was as it every single one of them had been plunged head first into ice water and it was that feeling that stunned them all into silence. It sharpened the pain of what Tim must be going through and they all knew that the fact that he had finally reached out meant that the feeling of him standing on the outside looking in and not being able talk to them about what was on his mind, was finally progressing into something that resembled trust; trust that could have quite possibly been shattered by the response he had just gotten with the phone calls. Tony glanced up and realized that he couldn't see the guy they were chasing and looked over at Gibbs. The look on his boss' face told him what he needed to know; they had lost the guy.

"Tony, check with the local LEO's. See if they caught this bastard we're chasing yet." Gibbs directed as he got his team refocused on what they were doing; despite the fact that he was silently upset with Tim's sanctioned absence, too.

Knowing now, that the young man obviously hadn't talked to any of them about what was going on with him yet, only heaped on the feeling that he was somehow missing an important clue as to what was going on with his youngest agent. He wished he knew what it was that he wasn't seeing but, even more, he wished like hell, he'd taken that couple more seconds to hear the young man out and left the chase to the LEO's. In short, regret was sitting in his gut like a dead weight and he didn't know what he could do to get Tim to open up to him again.

Tony felt a spark of resentment towards Gibbs but did as the boss directed by trying to turn his attention back to the case at hand. He silently hoped that Tim was okay and that the sad turn of events between Probie and the boss wouldn't work too far against the progress in getting to the bottom of things or getting them worked out. Giving himself a mental shake, his mind finally did what it was supposed to and slowly focused back on the case.

Ziva remained silently concerned. Knowing Tim's penchant for taking things much more personally than most people realize; she was left silently hoping that what had just happened between Tim and Gibbs, coupled with the missed contact with Tony, didn't get in the way of getting the information that they needed to help Tim. She wouldn't admit it to anyone, but Ziva missed her friend and desperately wanted him back at work, where he was happy to be doing the job he loved.

She was torn out of her thoughts briefly when Gibbs veered sharply to the right and she saw the guy they were chasing up ahead. As they barreled down the side streets that their maniac dirt bag had attempted to escape on; each person drifted back into their own thoughts and found it difficult to focus on the case at hand, it was something that they all had to fight on and tried desperately to refocus on what they were doing.

* * *

Tim woke up feeling groggy and disorientated. _What the hell was he doing sleeping again? Hadn't he gotten a good night's sleep? _Thinking back over the morning, he realized that he'd allowed himself to think himself into a tired funk that had allowed him to use sleep as an escape for the tempest swirling in his mind. Shaking it off, he got up and decided to take another shower in hope that it would clear his mind because he needed to stay with the program as much as possible; something which meant keeping his brain sharp and staying in shape. With that personal decision made, Tim began to mentally put together a list of things to do with his day and by the time he was dressed and heading out the door, he had enough planned out to eat away at the remaining day time hours.

As he got down to his car and unlocked it, he realized he left his phone back up in his bedroom and had to retrace his steps to get it. Not bothering to check it for any missed calls since he wasn't expecting any, Tim tossed it into the passenger seat of his car and drove himself to his first stop; the local Y where he had a membership; mostly for the pool use.

* * *

Lunchtime found Tony, Ziva and Gibbs back in the squad room and ordering lunch in so they could keep going through the nuts and bolts of solving the case without their technical genius. The fact that it was taking them longer was yet another stark reminder of his absence; the fact that they all missed the banter and chit chat that they would normally have was just painful and so far, the day had been empty and devoid of anything resembling normality. No one was in a joking mood. In fact, in the two days since Probie had been suspended, not one smile or joke had been cracked.

Their dealings with the TAD Lab tech that had been foisted on them didn't help the situation at all and whilst the guy was knowledgeable and studious , he was not a people person and indeed, came across to all of them as quiet snobbish and unfriendly. Everytime Tony had to go down to the lab, he had to bite his tongue and keep it professional when in fact, all he wanted to do was to tell this guy to take the stick out of his ass. This in turn, reminded them all of Abby's background contributions to the team and that her absence took away that spark of hope that her normally bouncy, happy behavior gave them; no matter how bad the case. But, they couldn't dwell on that without being reminded that it was her actions that had brought this down on all of them in the first place. They hoped she would soon come to that realization just as they had before it negatively impacted anyone's lives.

"Gibbs." Vance's voice seemed to come out of nowhere as he ghosted into the squad room and stood in front of Gibbs' desk.

"Director." Gibbs glared up at him and could see that the sarcasm that had been injected into greeting hadn't gone amiss.

"Got an answer for me from your boy yet?"

Gibbs remained silent as he inwardly fumed at Leon's lack of tact or respect for Tim's right to privacy on the entire matter, not to mention the lack of respect for the fact that Tim was definitely not a boy and had come on leaps and bounds over the years. Gibbs remained silent and intensified is glare.

"I'll take that as a no. Maybe you should remind him of his options."

The silence continued for a long moment before Vance glared at both Ziva and Tony and then headed back up the stairs to his office with both his question and suggestion unanswered.

Gibbs was determined not to let his remaining team lose focus and used the one question that he knew would draw their attention back to the reason they were sat there by refocusing their minds on the case.

"Where are we?" It was an instant change and the question had the desired effect as Tony and Ziva both started rattling off their findings.

And so, the afternoon passed in a sea of case work, lead chasing and trail following; all in the name of solving the case. And every bit of it feeling almost like a hated chore because the fun and satisfaction that the job usually provided had been sucked right out of it, leaving them mechanically going through the motions of the investigation. Every one of them wished this week would fly by so they could have the weekend free to try to talk to Tim and get his spin on what happened.

* * *

Two hours of swimming and working out later; followed by yet another shower made Tim felt better and even a little more in shape than he had before he'd forced himself to get back on track. The decision seemed to set the feeling that with the exception of this crap at work, everything was right with his world. He had a wonderful woman he was sharing his life with and hoped to continue to share it with for eternity. He had enough money saved up to be able to more than adequately provide for her, even with this stupid suspension taking a month's pay away from him…._Oh yeah, the book had its advantages._ He chuckled at the random thought and then let his memory flit over images of Pam and Jethro; even his dog loved his woman.

_His dog. Jethro! Damn it_. He'd faced tougher situations than this; without a doubt; even personal ones. That didn't take away the problem or the pain with this one. But, he'd have to suck it up and learn how to deal with it if he was really gonna get to keep his life on track and not let this situation completely train-wreck his life. Breathing out a huge sigh of frustration, Tim headed to the kennel to get his dog.

Pulling up to the kennel, Tim parked the car and turned the engine off. He picked up his phone and noticed the notification that told him he had new messages and seeing as he hadn't even looked at his phone in hours, meant that he'd probably have a couple to listen too; hopefully, even one from Pam. Hitting the buttons he needed to; he was surprised to find he had several messages waiting for him.

"_TimothyI do apologize for missing your call, young man. Any time after work that you wish to talk with me, I will be available to you. No appointment is necessary. If you wish to talk over dinner I would enjoy the company and the lovely Pamela is always welcome to join us. Do call me and let me know what you decide, won't you? Again, I deeply apologize for missing your call."_

Tim smiled as he thought of Ducky. The "Uncle" he never had. Yeah, that man truly was a treasure that he loved and respected deeply. Quickly he returned the call, having to leave the M.E. yet another message. This time he kept it short, accepting the offer to talk to him after work that night and thanking him for the offer.

When he'd finished returning Ducky's call, Tim went back to his messages; this time, hearing Tony's voice.

"Probie, Boss man was driving when you called just now and we're chasing a psycho Mario Andretti, but he said to tell you he's sorry about the miscommunication that just happened between you two. He wants you to call him back later on, when we've had time to work on this case and get back to the office, all right? Call me too, man because I'm kinda worried about ya."

Tim had to chuckle at Tony's description of the car chase he'd obviously caught Gibbs in the middle of. Well, it certainly erased the bad feeling that the call had given him earlier. Tim was reluctant to call Gibbs though, just in case he caught him at the wrong time again. Hell, he didn't know whether or not he wanted to talk to him at all given what he needed to talk to him about. Tim settled for calling Tony instead.

"DiNozzo."

"_Tony, this a bad time?"_

"Probie! Not for you it's not. You okay?" Tony's quick answer betrayed the concern he felt for his friend and Tim found himself grinning at the fact that it was completely open and unhidden.

Gibbs and Ziva both paused in their conversation about the suspects' contacts when Tony's words floated across the squad room to them.

"You sure? You wouldn't be trying to keep it from me if you're not, would ya?" Tony pushed after Tim had told him he was okay.

"_Tony, Really, I'm okay. I'm gonna talk to Ducky tonight after work, Can you meet me for lunch tomorrow? I know you probably won't get to call it a night till real late tonight."_

"I'll **be** there."

"_Thanks. Hey,Tony?"_

"Yeah?."

"_Thanks for pushing me to let you in. It's not like you, but I really appreciate what you're doing."_

"No sweat, Mclittle brother. We're getting' tired of having to muddle through your job and need you back in here, pronto!" Tony hoped Tim would take this as their usual banter and knew damn well that his best friend took it for what it was…underlying worry.

"_Tony, that's not gonna happen, even after I talk to you about it. I want to talk to Ziva as well but I need to sit down with you first. I know that keeping you in the dark goes against us trusting each other and I can't do that. Not that I don't trust Ziva or want her to not trust me, it's just I need to hear what you think about what I have to say first, from the Senior Field Agent's point of view_."

Tony looked over at Gibbs and Ziva who were both standing stock still to watch him and listen in as best they could. He got up from his chair and walked away from the squad room so he could answer Tim honestly and openly.

"Oh, I get it, I appreciate that, McGoo, I do. Call me after you talk to Ducky."

"_Okay. And Tony, will you please tell Ziva what I said? She's too important to me for her to think badly of me."_

"I'll let her know. But, I don't think you have to worry about it. "

"_Thanks. Hey, Tony?_

"Yeah, Probie?"

"_Is Gibbs okay? I mean, he's not taking what I did out on you guys is he?"_ It was just like Tim to worry about everyone else and Tony felt himself smiling at the thoughtfulness Tim had shown them.

"Nah. To tell you the truth, McGee, he seemed just as upset as you looked when he saw you at the scene yesterday. What was up with that, anyway?"

"_It just got to me; the not being there officially, you know. I guess that makes me the wimp you've always told me I was."_

"Knock it off, Probie. You know I know you're not a wimp."

"_Tony, I still have to talk to Gibbs. Will you let me know when I should try? I don't want to catch him at a bad time because I don't need to give him another reason to get pissed at me."_

"Why would he be pissed at you?"

"_You mean besides this whole Mexico fiasco? I got a ticket yesterday when I was leaving the crime scene." _Tim huffed out a bitter, short laugh at the memory and could feel his gut clench at the thoughts of what he had done.

"I'm pretty sure he's more pissed that you allowed this suspension to happen when you could have just cooperated with Vance and avoided it. But, what does you getting a ticket have to do with Gibbs, Probie?"

"_I wasn't thinking straight. I handed the cop my badge with my license. Force of habit."_

"Let me guess, he let you go with a warning." Tony figured it out for him and shook his head; trust his Probie to let something as minor as that eat away at him.

"_Yeah."_

"And what, you think you've broken some moral code and you need to turn yourself in to Gibbs for it, Probie? C'mon, it's not that big of a deal. The fact that you got the ticket in the first place means you weren't thinking straight. _That's_ the big deal here, Probie."

"_Thanks, Tony. But, put together with my suspension, and it is a big deal. I have to tell Gibbs. I don't need him thinking I did it on purpose or deliberately kept it from him_."

"Probie, you could have been on the clock, chasing down a suspect and you'd still be thinking you'd done something morally wrong getting out of that ticket. You need to chill out. Gibbs isn't gonna go ballistic over this." Tony hoped he was coming across as supportive as he tried to allay any worry over the ticket that Tim had.

"_I still need him to hear it from me before he hears it from Metro, if he hasn't already."_

"Ok, Probie. You want me to tell him?"

"_That would probably just get him even more pissed at me, Tony. But, thanks. Listen, I know you're busy, so, if you could, just call me later, okay?"_

"Sure thing, McGoo."

"_Thanks. Bye_."

Turning back away from the wall he'd been leaning against, Tony was brought up short by Gibbs standing at the edge of his desk, waiting for him. As expected, he was treated to the royal summons to Gibbs' 'office'.

"Talk to me." Gibbs directed as soon as he'd set his 'Office' on its' emergency stop

"He's okay."

"What aren't you telling me?" Gibbs kept his voice to a low, serious rumble knowing that it would have more of an effect right now than the shouting that he desperately wanted to do.

"Only what he wants you to hear straight from him."

"But, he told you first?"

"He's waiting till it's a good time to call you back; doesn't want to be callin you at a bad time again. That's something. At least he's not thinking the worst of the last time he tried to talk to you." Tony tried to alleviate the tension that had surrounded them in the elevator before he realized that there was a distinct possibility that he had just come across as accusing and arrogant. He waited for the head slap and was surprised when it didn't happen.

Gibbs nodded and set the elevator moving back to the squad room. Obviously, Tim was beginning to trust Tony to be the one he could talk to when he couldn't talk to the boss and Gibbs wasn't gonna mess with that. He was grateful that McGee was letting someone in and not just depending on poor Ducky to be the keeper of his secrets alone.

When the elevator stopped and opened back at the squad room's level, Tony went back to his desk without waiting to see what Gibbs was gonna do or say next. Gibbs, however, remained on the elevator, waiting for it to close back up and once again offer him the chance to use his 'office' to get the solitude that he wanted at this moment. He pulled out his phone and dialed his suspended agent's number.

"_Tim McGee."_

"McGee."

"_Boss."_

"Tony said you needed to talk to me. I'm listening."

"_Yeah. Um. I need to tell you about what happened yesterday." _Gibbs could tell that Tim was nervous but didn't know how the conversation was going to go; it was that reason alone that made him keep his professional hat on.

"Before or after you found the crime scene?"

"_After."_ Tim's voice hitched but he refused to get caught in the emotion of what he had yet to figure out. This time was needed to sill his guts about the facts of what he'd done wrong yesterday even though he hadn't been trying.

"Okay. I'm listening."

_Apparently, Gibbs wasn't gonna talk about it either_. _Well, okay, so much for that._

"_I got pulled over for speeding and when…"_

"You needed to talk to me because you got a traffic ticket?" Gibbs asked angrily.

"_Boss, when I …"_

"**McGee, I thought you needed to tell me something important!** **There was no reason for you to waste my time about a stupid traffic ticket!"** Gibbs angrily snapped his phone shut; effectively hanging up on his agent in mid-sentence; again.


	12. Chapter 12

Gibbs sat at his desk an hour after snapping his phone shut on Tim and practically punching the button that got the elevator going, out of pure frustration. He had marched back here with a fierce stride and had radiated nothing but anger ever since; something that told his other agents that they needed to get on with what they were doing in a way that wouldn't make him rain his wrath down on them.

For the first time in a a very long time, the squad room was completely silent. There was no banter, no jokes and no general chit chat that at any other time would have been tolerated. It un-nerved him to the degree that he glanced up at Tony and Ziva to check on them, and noticed the grim faces and frustration that seemed to roll off them in waves at what they were working on. His team was now soaking in own negative emotions while they struggled to get through the computer side of the invesitigation.

This stirred the turbulent anger within him because he knew for a fact that they were working on something that Tim would normally do and it was taking longer get the information that they needed. Shaking his head, Gibbs turned back to his emails and clicked the 'new' button so he could send Vance an email but before he even typed anything; his phone rang on his desk and interrupted his focus. With a scowl, he grabbed it up and flipped it open with such ferocity, that his agents though it was going to snap in two.

"Yeah, Gibbs."

"_Agent Gibbs?" _An unfamiliar, hesitant voice trilled through the phone.

"Who wants to know?" Gibbs demanded back with a harsh bite at the interruption.

"_This is Paul down at the Front Entrance. There's a Metro cop down here who says he needs to talk to you. Says it's about one of your agents."_

"What does he want? If it's not important then tell him to leave his phone number and I'll call him later."

"_Sir, he won't tell me what it's about but he's adamant that he needs to speak to you and says It's very important."_

"I'll be right there." Gibbs tried to school his anger and managed to answer with a little less vehemence; after all, Paul was one of the new guys and couldn't have been more than 25 and In all honesty, the kid was just doing his job and it wasn't his fault.

Gibbs strode off to the elevator and waited until the doors opened. As they closed, he caught sight of the look that Tony and Ziva gave each other and shook his head…._Damn it! Those two don't miss a trick. _His aggravation steadily built up as he walked silently to the front entrance. There was just so much swirling through his mind and the fact that he kept being interrupted for stupid, menial things was starting to grate on his last nerve. He soon made it to the security office and saw Paul standing at the front door talking to what looked like one of the LEO's that had been on the scene the other day.

"Paul." Gibbs greeted the security guard with a clipped tone that relayed his frustration at being called down.

"Yes, Sir. Officer Miller, here, says he needs to talk to you, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs scrutinized the Police Officer that had taken time out of his day to come and see him and shook his head as his memory served him well. "You were at the crime scene yesterday?"

"Only briefly, Agent Gibbs. My partner was the one who found the Marine and called it in. I just stopped by to make sure he was alright and to offer support."

"Right. I understand you're here to talk to me about one of my Agents." Gibbs wasn't in the mood for beating round the bush and got straight to the point.

"Yes, Sir. I wanted to talk to you about a special Agent…." Officer Miller took out his notebook to check on the name "Tim McGee. I sto…."

"Ok, let's take this outside." Gibbs wanted to take this conversation away from prying ears, knowing whatever this was about, needed to be discussed privately. McGee already had enough problems with his career at the moment without whatever this was about getting spread around.

Gibbs led the way with his normal clipped pace and the officer had no choice but to keep up. It wasn't until they were a good distance away from prying eyes and listening ears, that Gibbs finally turned round and faced the man.

"What's this about? You come here to talk about my agent without ringing first. He in trouble?"

"You Agent Tim McGee's direct superior?"

"Yeah, so you gonna tell me what the problem is with him or are you just wasting my time, Officer Miller." Gibbs tried to inject a warning into his tone to let the man know that if this was nothing, then he was going to come down on him like a ton of bricks.

"He's not really in trouble, but there is something I need to discuss with you about him, Sir."

"Then I suggest you spit it out, Officer."

"I stopped him for speeding yesterday. Seems he was just coming from that scene you were working. I've gotta tell you , he was really tearing down the road and when I got him stopped, he was visibly upset about something. Seemed distracted, too."

"You didn't come here to tell me my agent got a speeding ticket or that you think he was upset." Gibbs' incredulous tone was emphasized by his dangerous narrowed eyes; surely he hadn't been pulled away from a case that needs solving for _this._

"No, Sir. I came here to tell you that I believe he used his badge to get out of the ticket and that it was completely inappropriate for him to do that. I could get in a lot of trouble for letting something like this slide. I'm not willing to do that."

"For the record, Agent McGee would not deliberately use his badge to get out of a ticket. So, I'd advise you to re-evaluate exactly what it is that took place during your traffic stop yesterday. I will check into this." Gibbs warned angrily. "**But **I won't have my agent targeted or framed by your department. Do I make myself clear?"

_Truth be told he was more angry with himself than he was at this cop. This was twice in one day McGee had obviously tried to tell him about this and both times, Gibbs had blown him off. And, to make matters worse, his anger and impatience at what he'd inaccurately judged as intrusions on Tim's part, had probably blown any chance he had to talk to the young man about the really important problem they were facing; his suspension._

"Yes, Sir."

"Now that's settled, you wanna tell me how the hell you jumped to that conclusion, Officer."

"Sir, I don't just jump to conclusions and have got evidenc…"

"Listen! I am in the middle of a damn case that needs solving…as you well know. The fact that I am standing here talking to you is wasting what little time I do have, so how about you quit beatin' around the bush and get to the point!" Gibbs' anger flared.

"Yes, Sir. Sorry. I didn't think there was anything wrong until I spoke to my partner. I happened to mention stopping Agent McGee as he left the scene and he didn't remember the name. As we were talking, it struck me that your people wouldn't be going to and from crime scenes in a Porsch Boxster" The agent stopped and looked sheepishly up at Gibbs.

"And?"

"Jenkins, my partner, said you all turned up in the Van. He had to file a report with the chief so he wrote down the names of everyone who worked the scene; Agent McGee's name wasn't on the list, Agent Gibbs , which makes me think he's used his status here at NCIS to dodge the ticket. He got a written warning and he signed it, but that's not gonna cut it with my boss. As I already told you, I could get in big trouble for not report that."

"Damn it! Out of all my agents, McGee is the one that wouldn't do something like this." Gibbs ran a hand through his hair. "I want you to call in and tell your boss that you've been detained at NCIS and won't be free for another hour."

"Agent Gibbs, I'm on duty and don't know whether or not they will authorize that." Miller stood firm and tried not to buckle under the glare that Gibbs shot his way.

"Officer Jenkins, you don't have a choice. Now, you wanted to report this, well, that's what you're gonna do, to the Director. Now, you can call and explain this to your boss or I'll let my Director do it for you. But, either way, you're reporting this to the right person so you can't accuse us of covering this up."

Officer Miller pulled his radio out of the holder on his shoulder and reported back to control that he would be unavailable for an hour; it wasn't long before he replaced it and turned his attention back to Gibbs.

"You've got an hour Agent Gibbs. Beyond that and the chief is going to be looking for reasons to file a complaint about the fact that we are short staffed and you are keeping me away from my job."

"You should have thought about that before comin' here! Seeing as we're both busy, how about we get going rather than getting into a pissing contest about whether or not you have the time to do what it is you came here to do?."

"Where are we going, exactly?"

"I don't like repeating myself, Officer Miller? If you weren't listening the first time I told you, nuthin' I can do about that"

"Yes, sir. For the record, I'm not happy about this."

"Yeah?, Well, then I guess that makes us even. Look at it this way, as soon as we're done, you can get outta here and I can get some work done."

They approached the security office and Gibbs waited for the LEO to sign in before they both made their way through the building to the Director's office. Once there, Gibbs barged his way in with the less than happy cop trailing sheepishly behind.

"Gibbs. I wasn't aware of us scheduling a meeting today. And look! This time you brought company. How nice. To what do I owe this honor?" Vance's sarcasm didn't go un-noticed and he took pleasure in the fact that it was strong enough to elicit a glare out of Gibbs and caused the visitor to blanch.

"This is Officer Miller. He's got something to say that you need to hear." Gibbs said before taking a seat in his favorite spot; the corner where he could almost be overlooked but definitely hear everything.

* * *

The officer squirmed uncomfortably as he finished giving his report on what had happened with Tim. He stood there silently waiting for the two men to question him and was surprised when Vance turned his gaze on Gibbs.

"You knew about this?"

"No. McGee tried to tell me when he called earlier this morning, but I was driving and I hung up on him. He called Tony a little while ago and gave him a message for me. I called him right back but as soon as he said it was about a traffic ticket, I told him he was wasting my time and I hung up on him."

"Because you didn't figure it was anything worth reporting." Vance cocked his head slightly at the statement before sitting back and resting his elbows on his chair so that he could lace his fingers in front of him.

"Because I know McGee. He wouldn't use his badge to get out of an arrest much less a speeding ticket, Leon! Which made him calling me about it unnecessary, and a waste of my time."

For a long tense minute, Vance and Gibbs stared each other until finally Vance looked over to the Officer.

"Re-write Agent McGee the ticket, Officer Miller."

"Excuse me?" Miller looked over at the man in front of him and frowned. "I don't understand."

"You heard him. Re-write the ticket." Gibbs instructed the Officer.

"Okay then." Miller pulled out his pad and quickly wrote the ticket out for speeding exactly as it should have been written when he'd pulled Tim over. He handed it to the Director nervously. "You know, it's supposed to be signed by the person getting the ticket."

"You said you gave him a written warning and had him sign it, right?" Gibbs asked.

"Yes, Sir."

"Attach a copy of that to this one."

"I would need to keep a copy, Sir."

Vance hit a button on his desk phone and waited patiently for his secretary to answer.

"Yes, Sir."

"Ms Cook, could you come in here please?" Vance's calm demeanor was starting to make Miller feel uncomfortable but all he could do was sit and wait patiently to see where this was going.

"Of course, Sir." The line went dead, leaving them all sitting there silently waiting for Pam to arrive. As she entered the Director's Office and went to the desk without so much as looking at either of Vance's visitors, Officer Miller was struck by how much her professionalism shined.

"We need two copies of these papers, Miss Cook." Vance handed the tickets to Pam. "Please copy these in triplicate and bring the through to me when you're done."

"Yes, Sir." Pam took the papers and walked out to the photo copier just outside her office. As the machine ran the copies of the document, she glanced at them and felt her breath hitch as it caught in her throat.

"_Tim"_ she whispered as she quickly let her eyes run over the rest of the documents before scooping the copies from the tray and double-timing her steps back to Vance's office. She knocked on his door before entering and walking over to her boss' desk to hand back the paperwork.

"Thank you. Hold on a minute." Vance instructed Pam as he sifted through the papers she had given him.

He separated the copies and handed one set back to Pam. "Mail these to Agent McGee's address, immediately."

"Right away, Sir." Pam did her best to keep a straight face despite the effort it took her to hold on to her treasured ability to remain on a professional, unattached level no matter what she was dealing with on the job. She had to admit to finding it difficult this time since this involved someone she loved dearly and as she turned toward the door, the sorrow she was feeling for Tim laid heavily in her heart. _Things just kept getting worse for him. When would they get better?_

Gibbs had been watching Vance's Assistant like a hawk since she'd come back in the room with the copies made. He noticed that something about her demeanor had changed slightly; not enough to be outright noticeable, except to an eagle eye, like himself, but something had changed and it had caught Gibbs' attention. He had only needed that split second that it took Ms. Cook to lose her iron grip on the façade that she'd had in place, to see that for some reason, this situation had upset her.

He didn't even know her, but he did know was how to read people's expressions and hers plainly said this had hit her personally. _What the hell was up with that? _Gibbs mentally shook his head, feeling more confused about what was going on. _This runs deeper than I thought and no matter what, I'm gonna find out exactly what the hell is going on with McGee._


	13. Chapter 13

Pam had a tense afternoon, trying her best to stay busy and keep her mind off Tim and the bad news that his traffic ticket had been brought to his boss. _What was up with that?_ She was glad that Agent Gibbs had in turn brought it to the Director, in some ways. _On one hand, it left no room for talk of cover-up, but on the other, it left plenty of room for the Director to make things harder on Tim, didn't' it? No, it shouldn't. It was just a speeding ticket for cryin' out loud._

Then there was the problem of how Tim was gonna find out that things had gone this way for him before he even knew it was coming. She had no choice but to keep records of everything the Director's Office sent out in the mail. This kept her from having the temptation to hand it to him herself so it wouldn't hit him out of the blue, out of her hands. Pam was more upset that she couldn't very well call him right now and found herself really beginning to worry about what this was gonna do to him.

As her day ended, Pam headed out to the parking lot. She dug out her phone and started to make a call. As she reached her car, her heart stopped. Agent Gibbs stepped out from behind her car, his expression almost angry. Since, she'd been working here, she'd learned to read him pretty well.

"You've got something to tell me?" He demanded quietly but with steel in his tone.

"Agent Gibbs, I don't know what you're talking about." Pam said honestly.

Gibbs looked at her for a long scrutinizing minute before he spoke again. "Walk with me." He requested quietly. He knew neither of them wanted any reference to anything that might work against Tim to be recorded, and so led the way to the water's edge just a short distance from the retired warship docked there.

"Agent McGee's speeding ticket hit you personally. I need to know why."

"I'm sorry, Agent Gibbs, but why would you need to know this?" Pam stalled as her heart seemed to stop.

"Agent McGee is one of my team. Ms. Cook and if there's something going on with him that I should now about, then, I need to know."

"Look, Agent Gibbs, I respect you and I respect the fact that Agent McGee is dedicated to his job working under you. Tim is a friend."

"That's it?" Gibbs pushed.

"Ah, Jethro! Ms. Cook, how are you both?" Ducky asked as he walked up to them.

"Doctor Mallard, how nice to see you. How are you?" Pam asked as calmly as she could considering the intense relief she felt at the interruption.

"I'm well, young lady. Have I interrupted something? I'm terribly sorry. " Ducky tried to sound truly repentant all the while he sensed he'd been just in time to save someone from

Pam wanted nothing more than to cut and run, but was unwilling to make things worse for Tim or create animosity between herself and Agent Gibbs. So, she looked to Gibbs to answer the question for the both of them.

"No." Gibbs said as he turned toward Ducky. "You need something, Dr. Mallard?"

"Have a good night. " Pam said to both of them in general as she forced herself to calmly walk back to the parking lot. She knew that Ducky had orchestrated her escape and was grateful for it. Pam held no ill will toward Gibbs; well okay, she was pissed at him for the position that Tim was in, but she was responsible enough in her thinking to realize that it wasn't his fault alone. Tim bore some responsibility in it; for the way he'd put up with it all this time. But, hopefully, they'd figure out a way for Tim to get through this and with a better oiled machine of a team, than what there was for him now. She'd love nothing more than to be able to put this behind both of them so they could concentrate on their other big problem; figuring out how to bring their relationship out into the light so they could really enjoy being together.

Ducky's answer was a bit too slow in coming, which told Gibbs what he'd already suspected. The M.E. had deliberately interrupted to give Ms. Cook a way out. Although he was fuming about it, he let it go in the face of needing to hear his friend out.

"No, Jethro. I merely wished to see how you were managing without Timothy and Abigail." Ducky answered as they both watched Ms. Cook walk toward her car.

"The best we can, Duck. Knew it wasn't gonna be easy." Gibbs told the M.E. with a touch of inpatience at having been interrupted for this.

"Have you spoken with either of them since their suspensions began?" Ducky asked

"Been a little busy, Duck." The younger man answered back with the same impatience he'd already shown.

"Yes, Jethro, I am well aware that you have had a lot on your plate this week. Perhaps you are also deliberately avoiding any attempt to speak with either of them?" The M.E. pushed non too delicately.

"Abby created this mess, I'll be damned if I'm gonna coddle her through the consequences, Ducky!" Gibbs replied back in anger.

"I understand your decision, Jethro. However, one must remember that to suddenly completely change the way in which you handle things with someone takes getting used to. It's not something that can be adequately dealt with overnight."

"Aw, hell, Ducky, just spit it out, will ya?" the younger man requested in frustration so thick it was darn near tangible.

"Now, Jethro, I'm simply advising you to perhaps not take such a hard line with Abigail since she's quite used to doing as she pleases while you look the other way and merely did so to an extreme in this case."

"You can't be serious! For God's sake, Ducky, she damn near got all of them taken as hostages by the drug cartel! Are you tellin' me you think that what she did is excusable?" Gibbs demanded in fury.

"Absolutely not, Jethro. I'm simply advising that you should not allow yourself to be too harsh with her, as you yourself set the bar for her behavioral latitude to begin with."

"Duck, Abby's a big girl. She's also one of the smartest people I know. If she can't figure out that she has to take responsibilit for her actions there's not a whole lot anyone can say to her that will do any good. She created this mess and she can damn well deal with the consequences."

"Yes, I certainly agree with you there, Jethro, but do not forget it is your doing that has kept her from experiencing or expecting such consequences until now. And so long as you're willing to lay blame, let's not forget that you have allowed her to treat Timothy with little or no serious regard for a very long time now. While she was in Mexico with him, she obviously saw no reason to treat him any differently"

"Doesn't mean she doesn't know better. She's not a child." Gibbs retorted angrily. "I'll tell you the same thing I told her, Ducky. My having her back all this time was never a license to do what she did down there."

"I beg to differ, Jethro. Obviously, Abigail was unable to differentiate between what is acceptable behavior here at work and what is acceptable out in the field ."

"She should have known better!"

"Very well, I can see your mind is made up on the subject of Abigail. And Timothy?"

"I don't know, Duck. You tell me. Didn't you just have him over for dinner last night?" Gibbs asked with aggravation.

"As a matter of fact, Jethro, I did have him over for dinner last night. However, I was referring to your opinion on his situation." Ducky replied calmly, as he allowed Gibbs' snarky attitude to slide off his back

"Since I don't know what's going on with him, I'm not sure. Shouldn't you be telling me how he is?"

"He seems to be doing fine, Jethro, although he is very upset about this." Ducky stopped the conversation from delving any deeper into what Timothy might be thinking, since no one really knew what the young man was thinking.

"That's nothing I didn't already know, Duck"

"Yes, well, I'm afraid if you wish to know anything more, you'll have to take the time to talk to Timothy yourself. He has not been very forthcoming with me."

""He'll talk when he's ready, "

"Jethro. Talk to Timothy. Soon." Ducky requested.

"See ya tomorrow, Duck." Gibbs said as he turned to leave.

"Goodnight, Jethro." Ducky said to the empty air, in a tone of resignation

* * *

"_Tim McGee."_

"Honey, we need to talk. Where are you?" Pam asked as she did her best to sound calm.

"_Sweetie, I'm at Ducky's. I asked him if I could talk to him tonight. Why don't you come and sit with me while I talk to him. If you come now, we should have time to talk before he gets here."_

"Okay. I'll be right there." Pam answered quickly, almost instantly feeling better. She knew that she still had a chance to warn him about what was coming at him, since he probably wouldn't be getting the mailed tickets until at least tomorrow.

* * *

Tim rolled out of bed and got ready to face the day; relieved to finally have this burden he'd been carrying; off his chest. He'd unloaded it to Ducky and Pam last night and even when she had hit him with the news of his traffic ticket getting back to Gibbs and he, in turn taking it to Vance so the cop couldn't accuse the agency of a cover-up; he was okay. He'd heard back from Tony last night and they'd changed the meeting time from lunch to breakfast before work and although he'd told Tony he'd talk to him about everything then; Tim really wanted just to set up a time where they had more time and ability to talk without being rushed or having it screw with Tony's head while he was trying to work for the rest of the day. But, he couldn't walk away from the chance to see for himself that Tony was doing okay. As he got ready, Tim couldn't help but go back over parts of his conversation last night:

"_Timothy, are you certain you wish to continue to allow this suspension of yours instead of talking to Director Vance about this?"_

"_Ducky, I will not do that to Gibbs. I can't. I'd rather live with the consequences and move on without messing up anyone else's life."_

"_Dear boy, whatever do you imagine will happen if you were to let go of this?"_

"_I don't know, Ducky. But, I do know that it's not worth messing up the team and it's for sure not worth getting Gibbs into any hot water; doesn't matter how much or how little."_

"_Oh, dear. Timothy, you have such a brilliant career ahead of you. I do wish you would reconsider your decision."_

"_With this ticket hanging over my head now, I really don't have a choice, anyway, Ducky. I mean, it's not like Vance is gonna care what my reasons were now."_

"_Tim, don't make you decision until you talk to Tony. You know Tony knows how to get in Gibbs' head almost as well as Ducky does. You told me that. Run this by Tony first, Then decide, please?" Pam requested._

"_Pamela is right, Timothy. Anthony will want to weigh in on this especially since you've promised him that you would tell him what this was about." Ducky chimed in._

"_Yeah. You're both right. Okay, I'll talk to Tony first."_

* * *

"Hey, Probie! You're lookin' good. Stayin in shape, I see." Tony greeted the younger man jovially, genuinely pleased to see him and to see that he did in fact look okay and not sunk down in the dumps.

"Thanks, Tony. You look good, too. And Tony, you need to know that the reason I haven't said anything is because I know this will change the dynamics on the team and that's not something I want to be responsible for.

"Okay. That explains your silence. But, as usual, you've been thinking too hard instead of letting us help you figure it out."

"Yeah. I know. That's why I asked you to give me time to talk to you about it."

"So, Probelicious, talk to me. You gotta know, I've been dying to hear what all this is about."

"What this is about, Tony, is favoritism."

"And Abby. And Gibbs. So that means what it's really about is Gibbs favoritism of Abby." Tony reasoned out.

"Exactly." Tim said quietly.

"Okay. You're gonna have to explain because I don't quite have all the dots connected, Probie." Tony admitted. "Gibbs' favoritism of Abby and you and Mexico. What's missing?"

"Tony, Vance wants to know why I didn't call Gibbs right away when the whole near-hostage taking thing happened. What was I supposed to do; let him blame me even over the phone? I never would have been able to live that down. Hell, he'd a probably fired me right then and there!"

"Whoa! Hostage taking? Spill it McSecret! What the hell happened down there?" Tony asked incredulously. "Gibbs never told us the specifics."

And so, Tim found himself recounting the entire story for Tony, drawn by the big brother he now had listening to what he needed to get out; he began the tale back at Pam's desk, with Abby's less than pleasant attitude towards him supposedly behind his back. He didn't even realize he'd have to explain how he'd gained that knowledge later. It all just came pouring out. When he was finished telling his tale, he desperately needed a shot of caffeine and the space to let Tony digest it all and to let himself regain his regular breathing. Telling your 'big brother' your boatload of aggravation and trouble tended to have one thinking all hell was gonna fall down on your head afterwards.

As Tim finished fixing his fresh cup of coffee and returned to the table where he'd left Tony digesting everything he'd been told, Tim couldn't help but worry what Tony's reaction would be. Still, this was what he'd needed to do and he was more than relieved that he'd actually done it. Pam and Ducky were right on that score.

"McGee. Relax. I get it. Actually, I more than get it. I completely agree with your thinking Gibbs would have blamed first and asked questions never. Even though I've never found myself in the same position with Gibbs as you seem to always be in and don't ask me why that is, by the way. I have no idea why he treats you so differently. And before you ask, yeah, Ziva and I both see it."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one that does." Tim admitted almost to himself.

"You know Ducky's seen it. There isn't much that ole bird misses." Tony said as a reminder to Tim that more people knew than he'd realized.

"We'd be lost without him, Tony. He keeps Gibbs straight more than anyone else can even come close to doing." Tim reminded him.

"Yeah. I know. Now. About this. What are you planning on doing? And by the way, what happened when you told Gibbs about the ticket?"

"I didn't."

"You didn't tell him?"

"He didn't give me the chance. As soon as I said I got stopped for speeding, he yelled at me for wasting his time and hung up on me." Tim said dejectedly.

"Oh, jeez! McGoo, I guess I underestimated his ability to be dense. I'm sorry, man."

"Not your fault. I guess I should have let you tell him for me after all. You always find a way to make him listen to you." Tim said with even more dejection in his voice than before.

"Yeah. I can't explain it, McGee. But I get where you're coming from. Let me talk to Ziva and we'll see what we can figure out about what we should do. I hear you on not wanting to stir anything up against the Boss on this. But you can't sacrifice your job for the sake of keeping the peace, Probie. There's gotta be something we can do to fix this." Tony said earnestly.

"Thanks Tony." Tim said with loads of genuine gratitude. He got up to leave, knowing Tony had to get to work.

"Gotta question for you, Probie." Tony said as he got up from the table and walked toward the door with Tim.

"Okay."

"How did you find out what Abby said about you going with her before you got to Vance's Assistant's office?"

Tim blushed and even his ears turned red as he looked as far away from Tony as he could.

"What aren't you telling me, Probie?"

"Tony, I can't. I can't ask you to keep any secrets for me. It wouldn't be fair." Tim said finally as he looked Tony straight on.

"You're dating Ms Cook!" No way! Oh, Ho! Probie! Way to go, man! Wait? How the hell long's this been goin' on and why haven't you said anything to yours truly?"

"Tony! I just told you! It's a secret, damn it! You think I want Vance threatening her job because she's dating me? I'll quit first."

"NO, Probie, you won't! But, don't worry. I'll keep your secret. I promise. I get it. I think you're overthinking things again, but I'll go with you on this one."

"What about Ziva?"

"What about her?"

"Tony, I'm not keeping this from her now that you know. Not when you both can be trusted to keep your mouths shut when it counts. I don't want either of you having any reason to not trust me! We've had enough distrust thrown at us through manipulation of others. I won't be a party to it or the cause of it."

"Okay, Probie. I hear ya. I'll tell her. I'm guessing Ducky knows?"

"Yeah, he overheard me talking to her over the phone the other night at his house."

"Well, then the only person you have to worry about is Gibbs."

"And Abby."

"Right. Abby. Does our resident heart breaker know?"

"No."

"What are you gonna do about having to work with Abby after this, McGee?"

"I haven't thought about it yet. Although, I pretty sure Gibbs is gonna expect me to just suck it up and carry on like nothing happened."

"Yeah. You're probably right. Okay. I gotta go, McGee. I'll talk to Ziva and get back to you. You ever gonna let us go out with you and your girl?"

"I'll ask her. I'd like that, Tony. Thank you. For everything."

"Sure thing, kid. Listen. Don't go sweatin' any of this, all right? We'll sort it out."

"Thanks."


	14. Chapter 14

Abby was fuming pissed. No one on the team had called her or stopped by since her week of suspension had started. She'd never felt so alone before, in all her years at NCIS. This was horrid and impossible. She hated every minute of it. Four days of isolated silence and hours to fill with no desire to do anything that would fill them. She'd tried going out with her friends and bowling with her Nun friends, but nothing was easing this feeling of being deserted and abandoned by the people who were supposedly her friends.

Finally, on the Friday morning of her 1st week of suspension, Abby couldn't take it anymore. She didn't understand why she hadn't even heard from Ducky. He was supposed to be her friend no matter what. _So what was up with that_? Picking up her phone, she called the M.E.

"Dr. Mallard."

"_Ducky._"

"Abigail. How nice to hear from you, my dear! How have you been?"

"_You haven't called me or come to see me all week. Why not?"_ Abby asked sadly

"I'm afraid I've been quite busy, my dear. Work has been far from quiet and has made for the need for early evenings of rest. How are you?"

"_Alone. Abandoned, Neglected. Without friends that are supposed to be my friends."_ Abby ranted.

"Those same friends, I suppose are the very ones who have been placed in an tenuous position of having to do their jobs as well as that of their missing team mate and with a temporary lab technician who is less than pleasant, Abigail. I had rather hoped that you would have used this time to thoroughly examine your motives and your actions and the consequences which could have resulted and even those that did instead of thinking of ways to remain angry at the very people who have had to deal with the repercussions of your own actions." Ducky gently admonished her.

"_I know, Ducky. I know I have to figure out some stuff, but does that mean I have to be left out in the cold?"_

"Abigail, Gibbs' team is quite busy working two cases. I'm afraid no one has any time of anything of a personal nature right now. You know very well that this is how things often happen with this team."

"_Yeah. You're right. Okay. Thanks, Duck man."_

"You are quite welcome, my dear. Would you like me to tell them you were asking after their welfare?"

"_No thank you, Ducky, not unless they care enough to ask. Thank you anyway. Hey, can we do dinner soon?"_

"That would be lovely, my dear."

"_Thanks, Ducky."_

* * *

The Friday morning of the first week without Tim and Abby on the job was a quiet one filled only with the sounds of keyboards and phones being used in the typical march through case information and rehashing of facts just to make sure their cases were iron clad. Both Tony and Ziva were less than thrilled to be there yet again without thier missing teammate. Neither of them had much to say outside of the cases they were working hard to put to bed.

By ten Tony and Ziva were practically squirming to get outta there and call it a weekend. With both cases wrapped up, the only thing left to do was thier case reports. Neither one of them wanted to be stuck here on Saturday morning doing reports. And so they buckled down and got theirs done with rare silence and even more rare speed.

Gibbs knew something was up and despite his sour mood spurned by the chaos that this whole Mexican trip had created and the now severely damaged relationships between himself and his missing people, he found himself wishing his steadily working agents now drenched in silent antsy-ness and abject cooperation, would just come out with whatever was on their minds. He knew it most likely had to do with McGee and only gave him more reason for wishing they'd talk to him.

The trouble with that stupid traffic ticket had seemed to just filter away after he'd dropped into Vance's lap. But that didn't erase the fact that he knew Vance's assistant was hiding something from him. Nor, did it erase the fact that he'd had the chance to hear Tim out and possibly even get through to him that he was needed here where he not only made up the missing link of the team, but was happy and thriving; and he'd blown it; not just once, but twice.

Suddenly feeling the wave of anger at his own ineptness at handling his uncomfortable relationship with McGee, Gibbs took himself out for a fresh coffee. As he returned, he found himself walking back to an empty squad room. Knowing his agents probably had escaped to Ducky's domain in search of the M.E.'s compassionate ear, Gibbs headed that way. His anger had shifted course in his trip to get coffee and he now found himself angry once again at his missing agent.

_McGee should have called him and informed him about what had happened in Mexico as soon as he'd gotten them out of that situation with the drug cartel. Maybe it was a good thing that Vance had handled this because Gibbs probably would have torn a strip off McGee's hide for not telling him about it. And what the hell was he thinking, keeping his mouth shut with the ridiculous idea that he was protecting Abby? Sure the kid had carried a torch for the Lab Rat; hell everyone knew that. But this was beyond ridiculous! This was foolish and stupid!_

Gibbs stepped off the last step of the stairs he'd taken instead of the noisy elevator and entered Autopsy. His agents were so wrapped up in their lively discussion they never even heard the 'whoosh' of the doors or noticed he'd joined them.

"…think McGee needs to hide this from Gibbs? I mean, it can't really be as serious a problem as he thinks it will be?" Tony was asking.

"Anthony. While I'm glad that Timothy has confided in you, I do wonder if it was such a good idea to have done so. Didn't Timothy tell you that it was the trust and honesty he was not willing to jeopardize with you and Ziva that led him to tell you exactly what was going on with him? Were you listening when he told you his reason for accepting this harsh consequence to his decision? Why then would you not try harder to honor his wish for this not to become public knowledge?"

"I know, Ducky, but he already talked to you and he asked me to tell Ziva so I'm not exactly telling anyone that McGee hasn't already let it."

"That's not necessarily true, DiNozzo." Gibbs said calmly from the doorway. "Somebody wanna tell me what the hell's going on?"

Tony straightened up and slid Ducky an apologetic look before he turned and looked his boss straight on and answered his question. "Sorry, Boss. No can do. I'll be getting back to work now." Tony tried to make a quick exit but found himself blocked by Gibbs who wasn't letting him off this easy.

"Start talking, DiNozzo." Gibbs ordered with enough bite that there was no doubt his temper was rising.

"Jethro, let the boy be! He cannot tell you what he is not free to do so." Ducky admonished the team leader.

"Well, somebody better tell me what the hell's going on!" Gibbs demanded.

"Gibbs. It is something only McGee can tell you. That is his right." Ziva answered calmly with a bit more explanation.

"His right? Kinda think he lost the right to make that choice when he screwed up his career in a useless attempt to protect Abby's career, don't you?" Gibbs bit out angrily.

Tony suddenly shoved his way past Gibbs in a rise of anger he let show in his tone as he vehemently whispered the answer to the boss' statement as he passed him. "It's not Abby's career he's trying to protect"

Gibbs reached out and snagged Tony's arm, stopping the younger man in his tracks. "What the hell are you tryin to say, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked with his own voice laced in steeled anger.

"Just what I said." Tony's voice was leveled with matching quiet anger but loud enough to reach across the room to Ducky as he once again answered Gibbs' question.

"**It's not Abby's career he's protecting. It's yours!"**


	15. Chapter 15

Gibbs was speechless; Ducky was angry; Ziva was worried; and Tony was; well Tony was relieved the truth was out; the gist of it anyway. Sure, he was pissed at himself, too, for letting the cat outta the bag but he was more than happy to be the one to do it if it made things easier for McGee. Needless to say, that at that moment, Autopsy had never before been so quiet with so many live bodies present at the same time.

Ducky was the first to break the tense silence; letting his anger rip at what he felt was a betrayal of Timothy's trust and confidence. "Anthony!"

Tony turned back to Ducky. "No, Ducky. I'm glad it's out. Now, maybe Tim won't have to lose any more sleep over this crap. I'm sorry if you think I've betrayed his confidence, but in the long run, it's for his own good. I want him back and the only way to make that happen is to get the truth out so he doesn't have to carry it around alone anymore. He deserves better."

Tony left autopsy with a still silent Ziva on his tail. When Gibbs and Ducky were the only ones left in Autopsy, Gibbs slowly took himself to the table nearest Ducky's desk and hoisted himself up on it, arms holding on to the edges. "You gonna tell me what the hell's going on?"

"Unfortunately, Anthony is correct. This will not go away until the entire truth comes out and is dealt with. It is also unfortunate that Timothy does not feel comfortable talking to you about any of this. Of course, you only have yourself to blame for that, Jethro."

"Am I gonna have to guess or are you gonna tell me?"

"Jethro, no one should have to tell you. All you need to do is look back over the way you have favored Abigail and never once considered her at fault for anything. I will, however, advise you to look back to the first and last time you asked Timothy to be Abigail's protection. From what I understand your penchant for laying blame first and asking questions, never; had extremely adverse consequences on Timothy that night and he merely did not wish for such an occurrence again."

"Anything else?"

"Unfortunately, the problems did not start there; but rather back when Timothy was attacked by the very dog that he was essentially bullied into taking as a pet, by the very person who claimed to be his best friend, no less." Ducky answered as best he could without betraying Timothy's confidence. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must take this sample to the lab, since I have already sent Mr. Palmer on an errand outside the agency. And, Jethro, please do Timothy the curteousy of fully thinking things through before speaking with him about this. Your penchant for going off half-cocked; so to speak, seems to be at the very root of the problem."

Gibbs nodded silently and took himself back up to his desk, his thoughts whirling in chaos as he went. _He'd already been thinking back to the Mawher case. Why hadn't he realized just how close he'd been to hitting the problem nail on the head? How had he missed the real issue when he'd practically tripped over it in his search for understanding of this mess? Would McGee talk to him now after he'd mangled the two times the young man had tried to reach out to him already? God, I hope so!_

Picking up his coffee cup, Gibbs headed out in need of fresh air, privacy and fresh caffeine. As he walked to the coffee shop, he hit the speed dial button on his phone for McGee. He wasn't willing to wait another minute to try to make this right or at least do his damnedst to fix it as best he could.

"_Tim McGee."_ Came the much softer than usual voice as Tim answered the call.

"McGee. We need to talk." Gibbs said as calmly as he possibly could, not wanting the young man to think he was angry at him.

"_Yes, Sir."_ Tim's answer was the one he only gave to Gibbs and only when he was super aware that he was royally in trouble with the boss and felt doomed.

"Meet me for lunch." the boss respectfully requested unexpectedly.

"_Yes, Sir."_ The fact that Tim wasn't using his normally less formal way of talking had Gibbs feeling bad that this kid felt this threatened about this pending conversation with him.

"Relax, McGee. I just wanna talk." Gibbs tried to calm what he knew had to be frayed nerves.

"_Okay." _The insecurity still came through along with the wavering tone Tim answered with.

"Good. See you at 12 at the sandwich shop just outside the front gate." Gibbs strove to come across as calm and reassuring.

"_Okay." _Again, the uncertainty was audible

Tim was near frantic. _What the hell did Gibbs know? What did he want? Was he in even more trouble now? Ducky! I have to talk to Ducky!_

Flipping his phone open, he quickly called the M.E.

"Dr. Mallard."

"_Ducky!"_ Tim couldn't hide his climbing panic.

"Timothy, I take it Jethro has contacted you?"

"_Ducky, Please tell me what's going on!"_

"Relax, Timothy. Please, calm yourself.

"_Ducky Gibbs wants __**to talk**__!"_

Ducky chuckled in spite of himself. "Timothy. You really must relax. Just because talking is not Jethro's favorite thing to do, does not mean he doesn't know how to do it, young man." Ducky tried to reassure Tim, but his sense of hilarity at Timothy's proclamation couldn't seem to be stopped.

"_I know, Ducky, but he wants to talk __**to me**__! What's going on? What does he know? And how'd he find out?"_

"Relax, Timothy. Jethro has simply been made aware that he is the one whom you have been trying to protect. He is also aware that it is his own doing that helped create this mess and he must figure out for himself what to do about it."

"_Oh, man. Okay. Do I wanna know how he found out?"_ Tim asked almost sadly.

"Well, it would seem that Anthony was rather irritated with Jethro and his temper got the best of him.

"_What? Is he okay? He didn't get himself in trouble, did he?"_

"No. nothing like that, Timothy." Ducky reassured the young man. "Anthony simply allowed his anger to overrule his ability to keep his mouth closed.

"_Whew, okay. Well, I guess that's one way for the truth to come out. I mean, I didn't want Gibbs to know, but I guess he was gonna find out anyway, he usually does."_

"Timothy, perhaps you could look at this as the opportunity to clear the air between you."

"_Huh. That would be nice. I'll believe it when I see it. Thanks Ducky. I'll talk to you later."_

* * *

"DiNozzo." Tony answered his cell phone as it rang some fifteen minutes after he'd returned to his desk.

"_Tony. What happened?"_ Tim's question in his concerned and sad mixed tone had Tony's heart dropping down in his shoes.

As Tony looked around the squad room and took note of Ziva watching him closely from her desk as well as Gibbs pretending to be working but stealing glances out of the corner of his eye every few minutes; he knew he had to be cryptic on this call. "Everything's fine. We can still meet and go over those details later."

"_Tony? Is this a bad time? I just called to tell you can relax. I know you went off on Gibbs and I'm not mad at you about it. So, please, don't sweat this."_

"Thanks. Really. Thank you."

"_No problem. I'll talk to you later, okay?"_ Tim ended the call.

Tony closed his phone and put it back on his desk and turned his attention back to his work silently.

"DiNozzo." Gibbs said from across the space between their desks.

"Yeah, Boss." Tony answered as normally as possible.

"What did McGee just say?" Gibbs asked as he watched Tony for his reaction.

"I don't know what …" Tony attempted to back away from the pit he saw opening up in front of him.

"Tony. Just answer the question." Gibbs said in that tone that left no doubt he'd gotten one up on his agent.

"Um, Well, he just said he wasn't pissed that I told you what I told you."

"Does he _know_ what it is you told me?" Gibbs asked with enough doubt to remind Tony of the very possibility that Tim didn't know the specifics of what had been said.

"I'm not sure. He didn't say."

"Mmm Hmm." Gibbs answered. "Get back to work."

Lunchtime rolled around and Gibbs was silently gone before Tony or Ziva even realized it was time for food. Funny thing was, when they did realize what time it was, there was a pizza delivery guy standing there looking like a lost puppy and they hadn't even heard him come off the elevator.

"Can we help you?" Tony asked as he approached the kid that looked even younger than Probie.

"I'm looking for a Tony DiNozzo." Came the hesitant answer.

"Well, you found him, but I didn't order anything."

"Um, this was pre-ordered several hours ago. Order specifically called for delivery now." The kid answered.

"Oh. And did that order have a name attached to it, by any chance?"

"Um, no. But it was paid for in advance, even the tip. So, here you go and enjoy your lunch. Oh, and this is for a Ziva Dav'id?" the young man held out a sandwich box.

"Gibbs." Ziva said with a smile. "He knows I do not always enjoy your taste in pizza." She looked over at Tony as she reminded him of this tidbit of information. "Gibbs must have done this to save us the trouble of going out for lunch."

"No, he's disappeared so it was probably to keep us at bay. Nevertheless, I refuse to look a gift horse in the mouth." Tony said knowledgeably as he lifted the pizza box off the hands of the young man who'd brought it to him. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." The kid turned and headed back to the elevator.

"Tony, do you really think that is it? That Gibbs ordered us lunch to throw us off from somehow following him? Why would we do such a thing?"

'Because he's probably meeting Probie for lunch." Tony answered almost as though he'd plucked that conclusion out of thin air.

"Why would you think such a thing?"

"Because, Ziva. Shortly after I let it slip to Gibbs who it was McGee is really trying to protect, Gibbs talked to Ducky, which was followed up with a phone call to me from McGee telling me that he knew what had happened and he was okay with it. Add that to the fact that Gibbs knew it was McGee I was talking to? It all fits. and It all says Gibbs called McGee right after he talked to Ducky and told him they needed to talk. So, it's lunchtime and Gibbs has gone to 'talk' to McGee."

"Do you think that was wise?"

"Do I think what was wise, Ziva?"

"Gibbs going to talk to McGee. Is that not like the bad wolf going to talk to the little pig?"

"Ah, ha! You've been reading American fairy tales, have you? Very good, Ziva. But, no. I seriously doubt Gibbs will screw this up again. I think he knows he's already screwed this up big-time and only has this one last shot to get it right."

"Tony."

"Ziva?"

"Has anyone checked on Abby lately?"

"I haven't. Have you?"

"No. I have not. I have been too busy and my off work time has been spent either sleeping or worrying about McGee."

"Same here. Guess we should go see how she's doing after work."

"Maybe you should call her now instead of waiting?"

"Why me?"

"Because you are her big brother, yes?"

"Yeah, okay. You do remember I kinda went off on her the last time we saw each other?"

"Tony, I seriously do not think that will matter. It has been four days. I am certain she will be happy to talk to you."

"Yeah? Let's hope so." Tony answered as he dialed her number on his desk phone and put it on speaker so Ziva could hear as well. Ziva brought her chair over to Tony's desk and joined him for this in case he needed help getting through to Abby and letting her believe they still cared about her.

"_Hello."_ Abby's voice sounded tired and miserable.

"Hey, Abby."

"_Tony. Nice of you to remember me."_

"Hello, Abby." Ziva chimed in, hoping to keep Abby grounded in the friendship they were offering her instead of the anger that seemed to be jumping through the phone at them.

"_Ziva. Wow, both of you together. Let me guess, you're in the squad room and I'm on speaker."_

"Well, yeah. We thought now that we have a minute between case work that we would call and see how you are doing." Ziva explained in hopes of getting her to see that they hadn't just abandoned her out of spite.

"_I'm here. Not working. Alone. No where to go. Nothing to do. And no one to talk to because the people who were supposed to be my friends haven't even bothered to call me."_ Abby ranted.

"Abby. We have been extremely busy with two cases in one week. The days have been very long and tiring." Ziva explained with barely restrained exasperation at Abby's lack of thought to that possibility.

"_Oh. Sorry. I know Ducky said you guys had been busy. I guess this seclusion's kinda really gotten to me. I didn't mean to take it out on you guys."_

"Do you want to have dinner with us tonight?" Ziva invited.

"_By 'us' you mean you and Tony?"_ Abby asked.

"Yeah, Abbs. I mean we could invite Ducky, too. If you want." Tony joined back in the conversation.

"_Tony, the last time you spoke to me, it was quite obvious whose side you were on. Why the change now?"_ Abby asked in confusion.

"Abby, don't go there, okay. You're like my little sister and I care about you a lot. Do you wanna get together for dinner or not?"

"_Are you gonna bug me to talk about what happened?"_

"No. But at the same time, we're not gonna listen to you badmouth McGee, either. So, take it or leave it." Tony answered her authoritatively.

"_Okay. Yeah. Dinner sounds great. Can it be just the three of us for now? I don't think Ducky wants to be around me right now."_

"Abby, why would you say such a thing? Ziva asked in confusion.

"_Cause I've already talked to him and he didn't sound too happy with me by the time we'd talked for a minute."_

"What you rmean is that you didn't like what he had to say." Tony reasoned out as best he could, knowing both Abby and Ducky and how their minds worked. "Ducky's always happy to hear from you and you know it."

"_Yeah. Okay. I guess you're right."_

"Well, we shall see you for dinner then. Shall we meet at 6?" Ziva asked.

"_If you guys can get away from work then. Just call me when you're ready to meet. And thank you, guys."_ Abby said with genuine gratitude.

"You're welcome. See you tonight." Ziva answered as they disconnected the call.

"Well that went well." Tony breathed out on a sigh of relief.


	16. Chapter 16

Gibbs pulled up and parked in front of the sandwich place he'd asked McGee to meet him at. Taking a deep breath, he let it out slowly in a sigh of nervousness and frustration. _How had things gotten so far out of hand? What would it take to get things back on track? Could they even get there?_

As he shook his head lightly to clear the mess of questions vying for space in his head, he got out and headed inside. He hadn't noticed Tim's car outside so he guessed that his agent hadn't arrived yet. Glancing at his watch, he noted it was just a few minutes before the requested meeting time and so the guy wasn't exactly late yet, but still it wasn't like him to cut it close like this. Tim was the epitome of punctuality as Tony liked to describe him.

Entering the eating establishment, it was clearly busy, yet it easy to spot McGee who surprisingly _was _already here, seated in a booth away from the hustle and chaos of the lunch crowd, hunched over what looked like a drink. Making his way over to the booth, Gibbs felt his gut clench. The kid did not look happy to be here. Hopefully it was just his over-active nerves working and not a genuine unwillingness to be here.

"McGee." Gibbs greeted his agent quietly as he slid into the seat opposite the younger man.

"Boss." Tim answered nervously as he slid his eyes up to meet Gibbs' only long enough for Gibbs to see just how scared the guy really was.

"Relax, McGee. I meant what I said. I just wanna talk." The older man kept his voice calm and reassuring.

"Okay." Tim's voice was chock full of nerves and uncertainity. He'd never been very good at hiding it when he thought his job or his good standing with the boss was in trouble.

"I owe you an apology." Gibbs offered sincerely.

"For what?" Tim was genuinely surprised. This was not what he'd been expecting.

The obvious fact that Tim hadn't been expecting an apology from him after everything that had happened in the last four days irritated Gibbs at himself even more. _Was he really that much of a bastard to this kid? Why? _

"Where do I start?" Gibbs offered. "Let's start with the phone calls that didn't go well. You accepted the crappy way the first one was handled and you let it go. I appreciate that. But, then you tried to tell me something important and I shut you down before you could get it out. I am sorry. You deserved better."

"Thank you." Tim was shocked into a humble answer.

"I don't want you worryin' about that ticket. Vance had the guy re-write it so no one could accuse you of trying to get out of it or us of trying to cover it up. Nothing more."

"Oh." Tim breathed out on a sigh of relief. He hadn't known what to think of that whole mess.

"You'll have a ticket on your record now, but maybe your otherwise spotless driving record will help you out there."

"Okay."

"Tell me something."

"Okay."

"Is Tony right? You're trying to protect me with this suspension?"

Tim couldn't bring himself to admit it. It would be like saying Gibbs had done something wrong and that wasn't something Tim was used to doing; especially in private conversations with the man. His eyes suddenly became fixed on the table in front of his water glass.

"McGee? I'm not gonna smack you for telling me the truth. C'mon. Out with it."

"Yeah. He's right." Tim finally said quietly.

"Can you explain what has you thinking that?"

"She's your favorite."

"Yeah, Well, I've never made that a secret."

"No, you haven't. "

"And?

Tim shook his head slightly, unwilling to take this any further.

"Let me make this easy for you, all right? The problem is that I favor Abby and I've never blamed her for anything. Instead I've always been quick to blame you without even giving you the chance to explain anything. Does that about cover it?"

Tim's downcast eyes filled with relief as well as surprise. "For the most part." He admitted without changing his tone or volume.

"Fill in the blanks." Gibbs requested. "Start with why you didn't call me as soon as you got everyone back to the university in Mexico."

"We just covered that." Tim admitted.

"Ah. Okay. You didn't call me because you thought I'd jump your ass for it happening in the first place and wouldn't have listened to anything you'd needed to say. You figured I'd only hold you responsible and not Abby."

"Yeah."

"Hmm. Well, I can see where you'd think that. All right. I'll give you that one. But answer me this. Did you try to get the driver that took you out there to turn back?"

"Several times."

"Okay. What happened?"

"He was too taken with Abby to listen to me." Tim answered with a large dose of bitterness.

"McGee." Gibbs breathed out in frustration at what Tim must have been facing down there with no backup and no way to regain control of a dangerous situation; except to offer up his own life in exchange for all of theirs. The guy must have been terrified. "Have you talked to anyone about it?" He asked compassionately.

"Professional? No. I don't need that on my record, too." Tim choked out. Finally talking about it like this was bringing back the sense of sheer terror that had risen up inside him as he'd stood there waiting for the answer to his offer of his life for those of the rest of the group as well as Abby.

"Tim, listen to me. I am damn proud of what you did down there. I'm sorry I haven't said so sooner. But, more important; I am sorry, you couldn't call on me for help. You should never have to doubt that I'll have your back like that."

Tim took a shuddering breath and got to his feet, needing some air before he did something foolish, like give in to the sudden rise of belated reaction to what he'd faced and feared alone in Mexico. Looking down at the floor, Tim told him one more truth. "I didn't call you because I thought you'd fire me as soon as you heard about what happened." Having spoken of the deepest fear he'd had where Gibbs was concerned, Tim sped out of the diner.

Gibbs mentally kicked himself for waiting this long to talk to his agent about this. It was obvious that this should have been dealt with as soon as it had come to light. Now, God only knew how deep Tim had buried it all. With the fear of being fired over it, it was no wonder the kid had kept it all locked up and Gibbs knew he was responsible for this chain reaction not only getting so far out of control, but for it obviously tearing at this young man's heart and soul. Quickly, he followed Tim out into the fresh air and away from the crowds.

As Tim found a secluded spot, and unaware that Gibbs had followed him; the emotions that had been forced into hiding, now came out in waves . It took all of Tim's inner strength to hold it down to mere tears sliding down his face when what he really wanted to do was scream at the world that he'd been scared for his life and for the life of the entire group; that he'd felt so helpless it had damn near choked the life out of him, as he'd waited for the answer as to whether they'd take his freedom in exchange for the others; that while he was fighting to force all of this into hiding, all Vance had given a damn about was why Tim hadn't reported it in the first place. All Gibbs would have cared about; was Abby.

Gibbs stepped up to his obviously hurting agent and quietly spoke to him in hopes of calming him down. The tears coursing down the young man's face was a flashing neon sign that told the boss that there was a whole lot going on here that needed to be dealt with now, rather than later because it had already been too long. "Tim. Talk to me. Let it out."

Tim shook his head, unwilling to let Gibbs know just how weak he'd felt when lives had depended on him being strong and in control.

"You don't have to hide from me. I don't expect you to be strong all the time."

"I know." Tim managed to get out. _He knew Gibbs thought he was weak. It was why he never got the assignments that spoke of trust and faith in his abilities; like Tony and Ziva always got handed. Tim didn't fault them. He, like Gibbs, only blamed himself. After all, he was weak, right? It was pretty damn safe to say that Tony would have handled the situation in Mexico much better. Then again, Tony would have been able to put his foot down and been taken seriously and it never would have gotten to that point it had gotten to with Tim there. This just kept getting worse._

As Tim's thoughts kept running free, his eyes filtered so many emotions, it was hard to keep up. Finally, instead of trying to silently figure things out, Gibbs laid a hand on his arm and gently manovered him to a nearby bench.

"Talk to me. I can't help you if you don't let me in."

Tim kept his silence, unsure of where to begin letting the boss in to what was going through his overburdened heart and mind. It was almost too much to sort through, how was he supposed to let a 'bottom-line' guy into the chaos of everything that talking about this had brought up? Even with the silence, the tears didn't stop, They were easing the pressure of feeling like he still needed to explode.

"Tim. I wasn't there for you then. I haven't been here for you before. But, I'm here for you now. Tell me what's got you this upset." Gibbs' persistent sympathetic request to be let in finally opened the door.

"I thought I'd never live to see another day." Tim whispered. "I'd never been so scared in my life. Not even in that women's prison."

"Because you were trying to save so many people all by yourself." Gibbs compassionately reasoned out what Tim was thinking.

"Yeah." Tim answered as the sobs he'd been forcing down suddenly rose up in rebellion. "I was sure they were just gonna laugh at me and not take me seriously, just like everyone else does. I was so sure they were gonna start killing everyone, point blank, right then and there." The shaking grew in intensity as the emotional shock was finally allowed the space to run its' course.

"You gotta let it out, Tim. Stop tryin' to hold it in." Gibbs encouraged

"You already think I'm weak." Tim's whispered admission tore at Gibbs' heartstrings.

No, McGee. I don't. That's not what I said. Definitely not what I meant. Now, do yourself a favor and let it out. You're not alone anymore."

As Tim's resolve to keep it all inside where those who already considered him weak couldn't see his vulnerability and repressed reaction to it all; hearing his boss repeatedly encourage him to let it out was wreaking havoc on that control and soon enough, the gates were thrown open and the once harnessed storm finally raged.


	17. Chapter 17

It had been two hours after Gibbs had left and Tony and Ziva were getting worried. They sought Ducky's advice and the M.E. smiled at their unspoken worry that something had happened between Jethro and Timothy because he knew that there was no reason for it at all. He decided that aversion was probably the best course of action so he distracted them by asking if they'd heard from Abby.

As they launched into a discussion of how things probably stood with Abby, Tony couldn't help but raise the question of how it would be possible for McGee to work with her again. Ducky was quick to point out that it was a question only Timothy would be able to answer and it was their job to do their best to work on their own relationship with Abby and dealing with what she'd done. How it had affected the team was something they were all going to have to deal with and put behind them somehow.

It took a good thirty minutes of talking things out before they felt reassured and returned to their desks to try to get some work done. Neither of them wanted Gibbs to have reason to be ticked off at them when he did come back. They threw themselves into the case work and before they'd realized it, another hour had gone by with still no sign of Gibbs.

Ziva was buried in the reading that she had in front of her and felt the sudden urge to look up towards the elevator on the floor above them. The unknown urge was explained when she saw Gibbs step off with McGee and she felt a moment of shock jolt through her. Neither seemed upset with the other, but rather, quite the opposite. McGee actually seemed relaxed for the first time since this whole fiasco had begun and Gibbs seemed to almost be trying to reassure him of something, judging by the way he wasn't allowing any unnecessary distance between them.

As Ziva steadily watched the two of them walk to the Director's Office, Tony seemed to notice something was up and looked over at her and then turned to look at what she seemed to be fascinated with; only to find himself barely catching a glimpse of Gibbs and Probie entering the Directors' Office. It was hard to say who was more shocked of the two but Tony was quick to voice his.

"What the hell's going on? I hope to hell it's not what it looks like!" Tony's fierce declaration and question brought a smile to Ziva's face.

"Relax, Tony, Gibbs is not leading McGee to the slaughter."

"How did you…"

"Tony, I saw them. Neither of them were tense or upset. Just the opposite, both of them were relaxed and not worried. It will be fine. I think Gibbs has finally convinced McGee to let go of his secret."

"I hope so. But, I hope it's what Tim's willing to do, not just doing it because Gibbs wants him to." Tony answered with an uncharacteristic use of his Probie's first name; a true testatment to how worried about this he was.

"It looked like full cooperation to me, Tony." Ziva attempted to soothe Tony's 'big brother' hackles.

"I hope you're right, Ziva."

Tim smiled timidly at Pam as he and Gibbs walked sedately into Vance's office after she'd announced them. He hadn't had a chance to talk to her since he'd talked to Tony over breakfast and told him everything but he was fairly confident that she'd be happy with the fact that this was all would be over soon. The only exception to that would, of course, be their relationship still being kept secret. He meant what he'd told Tony. He'd quit NCIS before he cost Pam her own prestigious career as the Assistant to the Director of a Federal Agency.

As Gibbs calmly shut the door behind him and gestured for his agent to walk ahead of him over to Vance's desk, Tim's heart suddenly seemed to fail him and drop down to his toes. Gibbs must have sensed it as he calmly laid a reassuring hand on Tim's back for a second before he dropped his hand and stood shoulder to shoulder with him.

"What's going on? Agent McGee, you come to tell me what I want to know?" Vance asked with his best poker face.

"Yes, Sir." Tim answered solomnly

"Okay, I'm listening."

* * *

_Twenty minutes later:_

"Agent McGee, while I understand your reasoning, non-disclosure isn't always the right way to go. Had you spoken to use earlier than we would have been able to help you."

"Sir, with all due respect, as I just explained to you, I had good reason to believe that the way I chose to handle this was the best for all involved. I do accept responsibility for the fact that things got out of hand."

Vance sat back with an empathetic look on his face. He had tried to show nothing but complete understanding and compassion for Tim's plight and had even softened his stance when it came to the hostage incident. Now he had to make sure this didn't' happen again. But, first he'd let him have the good news.

"Ok, now that's out of the way. I will tell you this. This has not been nor was it going to be in your file as a suspension."

Tim's mouth dropped for a mili-second before he found his inner self-control and closed it, despite still feeling the shock.

"This past week has officially been classified as paid vacation. Sure, it eats into your leave time but it's a damn sight better than an official reprimand on your personnel file. You've got the next week off too, if you want it." Vance smiled as Tim's eyes widened to the point that his eyebrows shot up into his hairline.

"Director, I don't know what to say. Thank you."

"I must warn you, Agent, McGee. This time, you got off leniently. The path you took could have had serious repercussions on everyone involved. The entire agency has been affected by the unscheduled week-long absence of two necessary team members. I'm not a hard man, but I will say this, I don't care what reason you had, I will not tolerate this again. The next time you'll be seriously disciplined."

Gibbs glanced up at Vance and realized that he wasn't quite done playing the hard-ass, even if I meant once again, going over the top to make his point to deal with Tim's self-sacrificing attitude. The Senior Agent was quickly becoming pissed. This stern warning was a stark contrast the help that the man had offered previously. It almost sounded as though Leon just couldn't let this go until he'd put the fear of God into McGee, even though he'd just told the Agent that he understood why he'd handled it the way he had.

Tim held himself still as he remained standing in front of the man shakily and sucked in a calming breath before turning his attention to the man who had just given him a get out of jail free card and then threatened him with serious repercussions if it ever happened again. He was confused and grateful in the same breath. He'd handled it the best way he'd thought possible and the man had just told him he understood. How do you understand something but then forbid that same something from happening again? Only his years of training under Gibbs allowed him to control his confusion and reactionary flare of anger. Deliberately giving himself a minute to calm down, he found himself needing some help.

Glancing at Gibbs, he was relieved to find the man was still standing there with him and for him, his eyes now encouraging him to finish this as best he could. Taking a deep breath, he looked back at the Director, and told the man what he knew he needed to hear, thankful that the man didn't read him as well as Gibbs did.

"Thank, you Director Vance. I appreciate your help and understanding with this and promise that I will not let it happen again."

"Good. Now, that we have an understanding, you're free to come back a week from Monday . "

He waited for the director to nod once and continued "erm…I would like to ask whether I could possibly come back to work today?"

"You don't want the next week as vacation?"

"No sir. I need to keep some leave available in case a family emergency comes up. That way I've always got something to fall back on."

"Ok. Welcome back Agent McGee. You do have the rest of the week off though remember so I'll leave it up to you. If you choose to come back to work, then you will still lose those vacation days." Vance reminded him.

Tim sent a small smile of genuine gratitude to Gibbs who nodded silently at him in acceptance and it was then then and only then, that Tim left the two men alone to hash out whatever was coming down between them.

That much had been Gibbs' expectation. After helping Tim let go of everything he'd been carrying inside, Gibbs had talked to him like never before, man to man. He'd firmly attached himself to the responsibility that hadn't been Tim's to carry and no longer was acceptable on the younger man's shoulders. Gibbs had been adamant that Tim let the truth out and let Gibbs take what was coming, as was his due for screwing up and not being the better Team Leader that he should have been.

No sooner had Tim left the office than Vance rounded on Gibbs and glared at him.

"You don't have to say it, Leon. I know. I screwed up."

"Why the hell didn't you say something sooner?"

"Because I didn't see it sooner, Leon. We don't always see what we're doing to other people, I don't have to tell you that. I only got him to open up and let me in over lunch and that was only because I practically ordered him to meet me so we could talk."

"What about now? What am I supposed to do with these two now? It doesn't take a genius to see that they won't be able to work together very cohesively after this. This agency has suffered enough over this, Gibbs! I want this resolved and I want it resolved, now!"

"Let me handle my team, Leon. I've got this. Besides, I think you've already put enough fear into him as it is. I don't know about McGee, but I'm kinda confused. You tell him you understand why he handled it the way he did, but then you read him the riot act for it."

"Let you handle it? Like you handled them before? As for putting some fear into him, I had to make sure he doesn't handle things like this again. Then again, that's your job."

"Glad we agree on something, Leon."

"I'm not sure you're up to the challenge, Gibbs."

"Give me a break, Leon; I know them a hell of a lot better than you do. I pulled McGee on to this team myself. He trusts me.

"That why he was willing to throw himself under the bus for you?"

"That won't happen again. Just let me handle it."

"Fine. You can have Agent McGee back as soon as he decides to do so. His choice whether it's today or Monday. Ms. Scuito's suspension stays in place. And I expect you to not let there ever be a repeat of McGee's motivation. If it does, the axe will fall on your head, not his. As a matter of fact, if it happens again, I'll transfer him to a team leader that he won't have any doubts about having his back."

"Then what was all that you just gave him?

"Insurance"

"Understood."

* * *

Tim felt marginally better for getting everything off his chest and where he now no longer felt like the lone soldier on the battlefield, he did now feel flooded with anger that these discussions of what happened in Mexico had released. This anger was worse than what he'd felt on the flight home, because this anger now had allies and substantiated substance. It was building to a roaring inferno and he didn't like feeling like this or know how to stop it. He'd never felt this angry at Abby before. Realizing that part of his anger was directed at Vance's mixed messages didn't help him work through it.

Thankfully, he had a healthier relationship with Gibbs now and finally felt like he could talk to the man. Tim's respect for the man grew by leaps and bounds, helped tremendously by the boss' promise to never let Tim be put in that position again. Gibbs' promise to work hard at not treating Abby so much like the favored child certainly helped too.

But, mention of Abby had brought up other concerns, and thankfully, the boss had been open to hearing those, too. Compromises were worked out and peace and unity were restored that afternoon. And all it had taken was Gibbs' willingness to reach out to the young man. The results were remarkable in how much lighter his spirit felt even if he still had the anger to deal with.

With the control he needed to get back into the game, as he'd requested the right to do, Tim took a deep breath and returned to the squad room. He let Tony and Ziva fuss over him; for a minute. Then he returned to his desk and relished sitting behind it once again. He'd missed it. As a matter of fact, he wished there was something he could be doing.

"Guys, you need my help with anything?" Tim asked seriously and watched in amazement as his desk became buried under files before the question had finished coming out of his mouth.

With the formally serious looking Tony and Ziva now both grinning like Cheshire cats as they stood in front of the now two foot high stack of work, Tim couldn't help but grin. It was great to be back. But even better was being on the witness side of what came next.

_**thwack**  
**thwack**_

"Ow! Boss?"

"Gibbs?"

"Do your own work. McGee's not your lackey!" Gibbs answered with a smirk.

"Oh, C'mon! He asked if he could help!" Tony complained.

"Help, DiNozzo, not do it all for you. Split that equally or do it all yourself."

Once again, the squad room was full of noise, joking, bantering and all around good cheer, all of its' residents were back where they were supposed to be and the atmosphere reflected it. It was nice to see and even a joy to listen to.


	18. Chapter 18

Gibbs watched his team reconnect without saying anything. Tim had only been gone for four and a half days and Tony was once again on his game, big brother hasseling his little brother and loving every minute of it. Ziva was also back in her comfort zone, the middle sister working at keeping the peace when she wasn't caught up in the humor involved. Tim. Yeah, Tim was once again the resident little brother who, while he no longer fell for the pranks and the overkill with the pranks, he did still let them get by with the jibes and remarks that he'd learned not to let bother him anymore. But, when Gibbs looked closely, he could see something was still bothering his youngest agent.

While he looked much better and more comfortable with himself, than he had a mere three hours ago at lunch; Tim's eyes still spoke of something unsettled and uncomfortable. He knew it had something to do with Vance's mixed messages earlier. But he could also see it went deeper than that. The fear was more prevalant than the anger. Having made great strides and boatloads of progress in getting Tim to let him in and getting him to speak his mind without fear of reprisals, Gibbs wasn't about to let the young man stew in anything that resembled the muck he'd been mired in all week long. No, he'd make the effort to talk to Tim before he let him go home for the night.

When six o'clock hit and Tony and Ziva began actively became antsy in an obvious desperateness to leave, Gibbs' curiosity was peaked. "You guys got somewhere to be?"

"Um, actually, yeah, we do." Tony answered a little sheepishly.

"Yes, Gibbs. We do." Ziva seconded.

"You guys wouldn't be breaking Rule 12 now, would you?" Gibbs asked pointedly.

"What? No!" Tony reacted with shock.

"No, No, we would not." Ziva reassured the boss with conviction.

"Good, So, then, what's the rush?"

"We have a dinner reservation."

"You two? Together? What's the occasion?" Gibbs pushed as the curiosity over this unusual event became contagious.

Tony and Ziva looked at each other for a minute, glanced at Tim, who wasn't watching the situation, but was listening as he worked; and proceeded to walk up to Gibbs' desk and whisper.

"Abby."

Gibbs' eyes darkened with a yet to be dealt with fury at the mention of his Lab Tech's name. While he'd been furious with her from the beginning of this week of craziness; that fury had become full blown and white hot after hearing Tim's  
first-hand account and witnessing for himself, what the whole situation had done to his agent. Unwilling to draw any further attention to this than his agents were, he let them go with a silent motion of his head and sat back down, glancing over at Tim's desk as he did. When he found Tim looking in his direction with a faraway saddened look of guilt in his eyes, the boss gave up the idea of going back to work for the moment.

"Hey,"

Tim blinked and cleared his vision as he looked at his boss.

"Talk to me."

"I didn't tell you all that to ruin your relationship with her." Tim admitted with the sadness that had been written on his face now mixed with guilt he couldn't hide any better.

"You didn't ruin anything. We'll work it out." Gibbs promised. "Just give it time."

"Okay." Tim answered in a quiet tone and turned back to his work.

"McGee." Gibbs said as he walked over to the young man's desk and perched himself on the corner of it.

"Boss?" Tim asked hesitantly.

"Something still buggin' you?" the quiet question spoken of concern rather than censure.

Tim looked down for a minute and took a deep breath. Looking up at Gibbs finally, he silently nodded.

"I'm listening."

"I can't." came the unexpected answer.

"McGee…" Gibbs growled in frustration.

"Not here." Tim clarified quietly through Gibbs' rising objection.

"My office." Gibbs requested as he closed down his work station for the night and waited for Tim to finish doing the same to his.

"Ready?" the boss asked to spur their steps forward.

Tim nodded and followed Gibbs to his office. He hadn't wanted to bare his soul completely but now that he was back at work, he couldn't tolerate keeping secrets from his Boss. The efforts Gibbs had gone through this afternoon to set things right and make this all be a thing of the past, made this the only option open to him.

"Okay. Tell me. What's buggin you."

"Vance."

"Yeah, I figured this was comin'. Listen, McGee. He just wants to make damn sure this never happens again. If it means scaring the hell out of ya, then obviously, he's willing to go that far to make his point."

"Then why'd he say he understood?" the younger man asked in aggravated confusion.

"Because he does. It's your typical double-edged sword, McGee." Gibbs answered in his '_you should know that'_ tone.

"Okay. I guess I get it." Tim conceded meekly.

"Just don't let it get near this point again, and you'll have nothing to worry about." Gibbs warned in genuine concern.

"Okay." Tim's answer sounded very much like the promise Gibbs knew it to be.

"What else?" the boss pushed, knowing full well there was more going on underneath the surface with his agent.

"Boss?" Tim was surprised. He hadn't realized Gibbs would see more than one problem simmering.

"Something else's buggin' you. You're afraid of something, what is it?"

"I don't want to be keeping secrets from you, but this doesn't just affect me. I don't want her to lose her job." Tim admitted with relief that he wasn't keeping secrets from his boss any more.

"You're dating Vance's Assistant."

Tim's mouth hit the floor.

"I saw her reaction when she read the ticket paperwork." Gibbs told him with a small smile.

"Oh Right. She told me about that."

"Relax, McGee. There's nothing that says you two can't be dating. Unless she's not treating you right."

"Thanks, Boss."

"How long have you been dating?"

"Six months."

"You've kept this a secret for that long? Why is it all of a sudden a problem?"

Tim had the grace to wear his guilt well.

"McGee, this isn't about you not telling me before now. Why is it bothering you now?"

"I don't want you to have any reason to think I'm being dishonest." Tim admitted.

"Nuh, Uh, What's this really about?" Gibbs pushed.

"I guess, neither of us are as sure of Vance's reaction as you seem to be."

"If he gives you any trouble, let me know." The boss answered with a show of support.

"Thank you for that, but it's not me, I'm worried about."

"You think Vance will give his assistant trouble?"

"That's just it, I don't know, but I'm worried that the trouble he will give her won't be fixable."

"And instead of getting it out and off your shoulders, the two of you have decided that keeping it a secret works for you? Must make for a pretty strained relationship."

"Just hard with having to be so careful."

"Then do something about it."

"I'm not sure I could convince her to risk it."

"Won't know til you try, McGee."

"Yeah. You're right. Thanks, Boss."

"You're welcome."

Gibbs snapped the elevator back on and silently waited for it to take them where they needed to go. As they walked to their cars in companionable silence, the boss hit upon an idea. "McGee."

"Boss?"

"You willing to go for some extra training?" Gibbs asked casually.

"Sure." Tim answered without hesitation, just as the boss had known he would.

"No matter what it's for?" his boss pushed.

"If you feel it's necessary, I'll go." The younger man vowed.

"Good. Okay. See you tomorrow." Gibbs said with a straight face.

"Night, Boss." Tim said before he climbed into his own car and drove out.

Gibbs smiled and let out a laugh. He couldn't wait to see the look on this kid's face when he figured out exactly what he'd just agreed to.


	19. Chapter 19

Tony and Ziva arrived at the table Abby had already gotten for them and greeted their friend in almost perfect synchronicity.

"Hey, Abbs."  
"Hello, Abby."

"Hi, guys. Boy, you guys look really tired. It really has been a rough week for you, huh?" the Goth said sympathetically.

"We are used to it. How are you?" Ziva tried to turn the conversation back to where she and Tony both wanted it to go.

"I'm feelin' pretty crappy, actually." Abby admitted with an air of sadness to her tone. She hated feeling so vulnerable, but if the truth be told, she really did need to get it off her chest. Abby was seriously hoping her two friends were willing to listen like she thought they would be.

"You are sick?" Ziva asked with concern.

"No! No, I'm not sick. I've just been doing a lot of thinking since I called you guys and Ducky, earlier today."

"And?" Tony gently pushed. This was his friend, Abby, needing to spill her guts and he darn sure wasn't gonna stop her; or even let her stop herself. It had taken her too long to get to this point and it needed to be dealt with. Sooner was certainly better than later, especially if the team was gonna find a way to mend this cavernous breach.

"And I know I said I didn't wanna talk about what happened. But, the fact is, I **really **need to talk about it…_with_ you guys."

"Would you like us to take this somewhere less public?" Ziva wondered.

"Yeah, Abbs, that might be a good idea. We can get our dinner to go." Tony seconded the idea wholeheartedly.

"Where?" Abby looked and sounded worried and uncertain at their suggestion.

"My place." Tony said quickly. "It's closest and has more room than Abby's." His grin belied the fact that his mind had immediately thought of Abby's prized coffin that she often bragged about keeping in her apartment.

Abby couldn't help but offer a small grin of appreciation for his humor.

Thirty minutes later found Abby, Tony and Ziva all settled into Tony's living room basking in the quite before the storm. It was only for a moment though and Tony was tired of being on edge about the situation and wanted it all out in the open as soon as possible, especially since that possibility had been dangled in front of him like a carrot on a stick. He gave her all of two minutes to stew in her thoughts before pushing her to talk to them.

"Okay, Abby. We're listening. Talk to us."

"Did you know." Abby paused. "That he hasn't called me all week." Her voice spoke volumes of how upset she was about this.

"You did tell us that none of us have called you this week, Abby." Ziva reminded her gently.

"But, I've never _not_ heard from him for that long before!"

"Just to be clear here, Abby. Who is the 'him' you're talking about; McGee or Gibbs?"

"What? Oh, you're right. Either of them! Wait! How'd you know?" Abby hadn't really thought about it, but now Tony had thrown the question out there, she felt the stab of rejection even more.

"This is you we're talking about here Abby. You only obsess about those two and only about McGee when things aren't right between you." Tony reminded her with a smirk.

"Obsess?"

"You think on that for a minute while I run back down to my car and get a movie I wanted to watch tonight." Tony advised as he made his escape.

For some reason, the feeling that he had to make a phone call just wouldn't leave him alone. Something told him he needed to talk to someone about what Tim had told him during their talk and soon, before it was too late. They'd skipped over it then, but it was laying unsettled in Tony's gut now.

* * *

Tim and Pam went out to dinner at their usual haunt. They had found it early on in their relationship and loved the fact that it was in a place so far out of the way, that they didn't have to worry about being recognized by co-workers. Tim told Pam most of what had taken place that day and relaxed at the expression on her face. It was obvious that she was extremely happy about the fact that he was no longer keeping it locked up inside and could talk freely to her. They even talked about everything he'd felt and tried to hide away; even from her and as he talked, she just knew that it was all for the sake of him not wanting to appear weak. She couldn't help but feel hurt at the thought of what keeping all that inside must have been doing to him but she was disappointed in him and the fact that he hadn't trusted her to help him through it.

"Pam, it wasn't that I didn't trust you. I just needed to deal with the team issues before I could even begin to address the rest of it, even with myself, you know? If I had even said anything about the rest of it, then I would have lost the fight to get the team stuff straightened out. It would have become all about the other things."

"Yeah, Tim. I think I understand. But, there's more to it than that, isn't there?"

"Yeah." Tim breathed out on a sigh of resignation and hung his head slightly."I was scared."

"Of what I would think?" Pam asked with a hurt voice.

"Of losing you if you saw how weak I really am. I was afraid that you wouldn't want to be with me anymore." Tim admitted from the depths of his soul.

"Oh, Honey! C'mere!" Pam cried softly as she wrapped her arms around him and held him close. "Sweetheart, just because we're affected by the crap life throws at us does not make us weak, especially you! You're one of the strongest people I know! But, I want you to promise me that you won't ever shut me out again. Especially when it's something that's bothering you like this. Never again, okay?"

Tim took her hand, looked her in the eye, and promised. "I swear, I will never shut you out again. That doesn't mean it'll be easy for me talk about it, but I'll try." He warned softly.

"I know. It's not something you're used to. It's a big thing having someone who wants in all the time. But, I'm not going to change so you'd better get used to it! I want all of you, understand?"

"I can sure work at it." He said with a smile that spoke volumes of his appreciation and love. "C'mon, we need to get to Ducky's."

"Tell me again, why we're going over there after dinner? Isn't it a little late to be bothering him?"

"He's expecting us and no, it's not late. You know, I'd never do that to him." Tim reminded her gently.

"Oh, right. Sorry." The grin on her face lit up the room; or at least in Tim's eyes anyway.

"Brat." He grinned back as he leaned down to kiss her gently.

Releasing his hand, she reached up and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him in snuggly to deepen the kiss and was well rewarded for her efforts. When they finally broke apart so that they could breathe, they stood in silence drinking in the love that shone in each other's eyes. It was a beautiful moment and neither of them wanted to break the spell, so they didn't speak and stood in there in comfortable silence. Tim ran his hand gently down her arm and laced his fingers through hers before guiding her to start walking.

As they turned to head back to his car, Tim pulled Pam snug up against him and relished the moment and the joy that coursed through him at this moment; one he'd never thought he'd ever experience.

He worried that the conversation that was planned for their get together with Ducky would ruin this and it was something that he desperately wanted at least a chance of getting more of; and so, he silently prayed that he wouldn't regret what he was about to do. Still it was something that needed to be opened up for discussion and resolution. Tim could only hope and pray that Ducky would be able to help him in getting Pam see the logic and reason that was going to be presented to her and not just the fear and worry that would come automatically.

Once settled in at Ducky's, Tim took a deep steadying breath. While he'd asked Ducky if they could get together and talk, he hadn't told him why beforehand. Looking at Ducky for a brief minute and then at his wonderful girlfriend whom he loved so very much, he opened his mouth and told them what he needed them to hear.

"Gibbs knows."

The instant flash of worry that filtered through Pam's eyes left him feeling like he'd just slapped her. He felt bad for putting her through this emotional build up when he already had a plan to solve the problem to begin with, but he knew he needed to hand this to her in pieces that she could swallow; not cram it all down her throat at once. As Pam thought about it for a minute, she was able to calm down and look back at Tim with something resembling normal and ask her question.

"What did he say?"

"He said we should stop trying to hide it and thinks we're worrying too much about Vance."

"That's easy for him to say." Pam answered quickly but remarkably gently, given the topic of conversation. "It's not his job that's in jeopardy if the boss decides he's unhappy about the idea."

Tim took her hand as he settled more comfortably next to her on the love seat. "Honey, he promised he'd do what he can to help if Vance does give us… you, a hard time about it."

"Why would he do that?" Pam's confusion was apparent and Tim found himself hating the fact that he had put that little furrow in her brow.

It was at this point that Tim looked to Ducky for some help. No one knew Gibbs like Ducky. The M.E. smiled with understanding and rose from his seat. Tim stood up so Ducky could sit next to Pam and better calm her fears. Relegated to witness, the younger man quickly sat where he could still reach out and touch Pam whilst giving Ducky room to do what he had to.

"Because, my dear." Ducky said as he sat in the vacated seat and gently took Pam's hand in his for support, "Agent Gibbs is a man who takes care of his own. Something that you are now by extension. Young Timothy here, is someone by whom Jethro not only sees as one of his own, but thinks of as one of his 'boys'; his son, so to speak. Your relationship with Timothy, automatically puts you in the category of being 'one of his' and means Gibbs will not allow anything bad to happen to you if he can prevent it." Ducky promised her.

"Wow. I mean, it's no secret that he takes care of his team, but look at how different things were between Gibbs and Tim just four days ago." Pam marveled with a touch of worry mixed in. "Do you really think things have turned around that quickly?"

"I know they have." Tim answered her with confidence. "It's gonna take time and the difference this will make will come slowly, but the new direction is there and so is the open communication that was never there before. Gibbs realizes now, that he really does need to listen when his team is trying to tell him something, including me. He gets it now. And I really believe that this is his way of saying that he wants us to be happy together and keeping secrets of this magnitude from your boss won't lend itself to happiness."

"And you must understand, even though things were less than they should have been between Agent Gibbs and Timothy, does not mean that Jethro would have ever allowed anything to happen to Timothy or that he was any less willing to protect him and look out for him if he knew he was in trouble." Ducky reasoned.

"Well…" Pam thought out loud for a second, but stopped as she worked on processing the possibilities.

"Look, Honey," Tim said as he took her other hand and gazed into her eyes, steadying her nerves as he spoke. "I know he's your boss, but you have to remember, he's ours too, just as much as he is yours. Now, I'm gonna go get a drink. Do you want anything?"

"No, I'm fine." Pam answered and Tim frowned slightly at her distracted tone.

"Ducky?"

"No thank you, Timothy. " Ducky answered and cocked his head slightly at Tim's silent plea for help.

The M.E. was already on board with this full disclosure and could offer Pam an objective view point as well as moral support. He knew that Tim was counting on Pam giving in to this and that he wanted her to give in because she wanted to and not until then.

"He's right, my dear." Ducky told her as soon as Tim had stepped out.

"Ducky, Tim's been through so much in his life and since he's been on the team. There have been so many new challenges for him to face, on top of that. The last thing I want to do is make this harder on him but I don't want to lose my job."

Before anything else could be said, Ducky's cell phone rang intrusively.

"Doctor Mallard speaking." The M.E. answered his phone using his business manner.

"_Ducky." _

"Anthony? Is something the matter? I thought you were having dinner with Ziva and Abigail?"

"_I am. We are. We've actually brought dinner back to my place so we could talk."_

"Anthony, I warned you not to push Abigail to talk." Ducky gently admonished the agent on the other end of the line.

"_Her idea, Ducky."_ Tony defended himself.

"Oh. Well that's wonderful."

"_That's not why I called. I need your help with something that I don't think should wait too long."_

"Does this concern your dinner guests?"

"_No, actually, it doesn't. I'm out at my car; played it off that I needed to get something out of the trunk. No, this concerns __**your **__guests. McGee told me he was planning on taking Pam over to see you tonight. He wouldn't tell me why, just that he needed to talk to the both of you."_

"Is this something serious?"

"_Well, yeah, Ducky, it is or I wouldn't have disturbed you right now. I would have waited until tomorrow to talk to you about it."_

"What seems to be the problem?"

"_McGee told me he'll quit his job before he lets Vance fire Pam over their relationship. I need you to talk him out of it before he does something stupid like actually following through on that. He listens to you a lot more than he does me; although we have been talking on better terms lately. I get the sense that McGoo is tired of keeping their relationship a secret and wants it out in the open. I just don't wanna see him sacrifice his career for real this time."_

"Anthony, have you spoken to Jethro about this?"

"_No. I'm guessing I should have?"_

"No need, I will take care of that. Rest assured, young man, we will make sure that this does not come to that."

"_Thanks, Ducky. Every day from here on, there's a chance Vance'll find out and…"_

"Quite right. Now that you have told me, you can relax on the matter and return to your dinner guests. Tread carefully there, by the way."

"_I will, Ducky, thanks again."_ Tony offered as he ended the call.

"Doctor Mallard?" Pam inquired with worry over what part of the conversation she'd heard.

Ducky smiled reassuringly at her and did what he could to keep her from worrying. The dear girl would only become very upset at the idea of Timothy quitting his job for her. No, he would take care of this without it becoming an issue between the two love-birds. After all, Timothy at least deserved some problem-free areas of his life.

"Ducky, please, remember that, my dear?"

"Ducky. Is everything all right?"

"Everything will be just fine, dear. Now, where were we?"

"I was saying that I don't want to lose my job but I don't want to force Tim to keep our relationship a secret any more, either. It's obvious he's uncomfortable about it."

"Which is why you must decide whether or not you trust Timothy's judgment. He trusts Jethro, sorry Agent Gibbs, to help the both of you with this. You, can trust Agent Gibbs to help smooth out whatever feathers become ruffled as a result of your relationship with Timothy, being made known to the Director." Ducky advised her.

"I'm afraid I have to admit I don't understand where this is headed."

"Pamela, Timothy has apparently reached the point in his life where he is comfortable placing the woman he loves before himself. You must not misunderstand what I am saying. You and I both know that this is very much a staple of his character to begin with. However, in your situation, it goes much deeper for him. I'm sure you are aware of the extremely painful road he has traveled in his personal relationships?"

Pam nodded and the pain Tim had revealed to her showed in her eyes.

"Ah. Yes. Well, then as you can see, it is very important that you…"

"Not rush this issue of full disclosure, with the risk of us losing our jobs being so high." Pam offered. "I won't let him…"

"Decide his own fate? My dear, it seems that Timothy has not had any such say in his own fate too much recently; at least none that he believed in. I do not believe that you wish to be one of those people who take that away from him now so soon after he's gotten it back?"

"No, of course, I don't. But, how do we go about handling this so no one ends up being a casualty in all of this?"

"Relax, my dear. This is, after all, Friday night and you and Timothy should be spending it together having fun. Go on, take him away from this and do not think on it any longer. Do come back for lunch on Sunday, though. I shall expect you both here at 1 PM." Ducky said and leaned in to kiss her on the cheek before walking with her back down the hall.

Tim was heading back to the living room and bumped into Ducky and Pam as they headed in his direction. He felt bad for being gone from their talk for so long, but he hadn't been able to prevent the phone call from work where his old temporary unit had called him for help.

"I'm sorry. The guys in Cyber-Crimes called me. They needed my help with something. I didn't mean to be gone so long."

"That's quite all right, Timothy. The evening is still young. Please, take Pamela and enjoy the rest of the evening together. Do not worry about this a minute longer, that is an order straight from your physician, young man! I will see you both back here for lunch on Sunday and shall expect you at 1, as I have already told this young lady." Ducky said with a smile as he walked with them to the front door.

"Um, okay, Ducky. Thanks." Tim said in surprise but knew that Ducky wouldn't take no for an answer. Truth be told, he actually looked forward to it.

* * *

When Tony returned from supposedly getting something out of his car, Ziva noticed that his hands were empty. _What was going on? _She wondered silently but In the interest of keeping Abby on track, she said nothing. While Tony had been gone, the two women had been silent, each lost in their own thoughts and both afraid to say something that would send this entire evening in the wrong direction.

Now that Tony was back, it was as if the stale air in the room revitalized with his arrival and they could all breathe easier again. Sensing things were precariously close to going South, Tony did what he could to salvage the situation before it was beyond repair.

"So, Abbs. Tell us."

"About what, Tony?"

"Abbs, c'mon, let's get back to why you feel crappy." Ziva frowned at Tony's comment but stayed silent knowing that he hadn't meant it the way it had sounded.

"How much do you guys know about what happened down in Mexico?" Abby asked worriedly.

"We've been…" Tony started.

"Waiting for you to tell us what you want us to hear." Ziva finished as she forcefully interrupted Tony. If Abby knew that Tim had opened up to them, it would seriously hamper the Goth's willingness to do the same.

Abby looked at both of them for a long contemplative minute before she nodded and opened her mouth and told her story. While her audience was less than happy with what she'd said and done to their teammate and friend once again, hearing the details from her perspective helped a little. Regardless, they knew she needed to talk so they respectfully remained silent and let her get it out.

* * *

Gibbs sanded the block of wood and pictured the finished product in his mind, even if another part of his mind was busy with thoughts of his team. He'd been impressed with Tony's bull-dog mentality in terms of looking out for McGee through this whole Mexico fallout ordeal and Ziva's quiet but determined support of both her teammates hadn't gone unnoticed and he felt proud of both of them. He felt even more proud because they'd both eventually included Abby in their focus, something that he had to admit, was no easy feat. Hell, he wasn't even ready for that yet.

Each of his 'surrogate kids' always did seem to look out for the others, for the most part anyway. As Team Leader, he should have, at the very least, done the same, in equal allotments and he realized that now. He'd screwed up where one of his people were concerned; It was a bitter pill to swallow, but not nearly as bitter as the story of what his negligence had eventually done to his agent.

And then there was Abby. He still needed to have a heart to heart with her. Gibbs was holding onto the hope that Tony and Ziva having dinner with her tonight, would break down that door and leave plenty of room for open minded and serious discussion between himself and his Forensic Scientist because he needed to know what happened so they could find what needed to be changed and/or fixed.

Soft steps overhead pulled Gibbs from his thoughts and he listened for tell-tale signs of who it was that needed to talk to him on a Friday night, especially with a free weekend looming ahead. With only a few more steps taken, it was clear in his mind that for some reason the M.E. had come calling.

"Duck? Everything okay?"

"Good evening, Jethro. With me, everything is fine. However, it has been brought to my attention that everything is not fine with our young Timothy."

"What's going on?"

"Anthony telephoned me earlier."

"What does that have to do with McGee? Tony was having dinner with Ziva and Abby."

"Precisely. Apparently, Abigail expressed the wish to talk with both of them so they moved dinner to Anthony's apartment in order to talk. He made up an excuse to go out to his car, at which point he called me to share his concern regarding Timothy. .

"Obviously he's got you worried about it, too or you wouldn't be here, Duck."

"Quite right, Jethro. It seems that During the course of their conversation yesterday, Timothy made it known to Anthony that he is more than willing to sacrifice his job if Vance were to demand such a sacrifice, if it means being able to hold to his relationship with Pamela."

"I've already talked to him about it, Ducky. Told him I'd help him with that. Also told him the two of them are too worried about something that isn't even gonna happen."

"Yes, I'm aware that you've already discussed their relationship with him. I was unaware you already knew of his intentions to sacrifice himself for her right to keep her job as well as her relationship with him."

"I wasn't. Doesn't surprise me., though."

"I shudder to think what will happen if the two of them happen to run into Vance this weekend, while they are out trying to enjoy themselves. Not having this brought into the open just yet, will most likely make for a less than enjoyable weekend for the pair. For their sakes, I do wish they would just let the man know and be done with it."

Gibbs nodded in agreement and dug out his phone.

"No, Jethro. Let them be. Let them enjoy the weekend together."

"You don't expect me to do nothing or you wouldn't be here." Gibbs reasoned as he put his phone away.

"I'd like your help with something that I believe will solve the problem and quite possibly put everyone back at ease around each other, so that this whole dreadful mess can be put behind us." Ducky admitted. "Need I remind you of what you asked of me not too long ago?

_"You'll let me know if McGee needs anything, Ducky?"_

"And you know what it is he needs?

"Yes, Jethro, I believe that I do

"I'm listening…"


	20. Chapter 20

Abby lay curled up in her warm blankets on Saturday morning and let the soft, comfortable bedding infuse her with the warm serenity that she needed. She felt better than she had all week long and the long talk with Tony and Ziva had made a huge difference; _but_…and by her books, it was a big 'but'; she still had to get through the talk that was due from Gibbs and then Tim. Despite that, she found that talking with her two friends last night had bought a feeling of hope and right now she felt ready for anything. Tony and Ziva had been so great to talk to last night and even though they'd obviously been upset at her actions and motivations, they'd listened to her and heard her out before they'd said anything.

The one big surprise had been that when they had spoken to her, it hadn't been full of censure and criticism even though Abby knew she had it comin'. No, they'd been very clear in where they were coming from.

_**Flashback**_

"_Abby, do you realize the danger you were in?" Ziva asked her with a gentleness that belied her normally brusque demeanour._

"_Of course I do." Abby was quick to defend herself._

"_Okay. Tell us about it." Tony jumped in with his unexpected request, causing her to flinch slightly._

"_What?"_

"_Explain the danger you were facing to us." Ziva seconded Tony's request. Obviously, they both were thinking the same thing; their Lab Rat had little more than a mere idea of what trouble she'd taken everyone into._

"_The drug cartel could have done anything they wanted to us and there wouldn't have been any witnesses." Abby said calmly, even though the very image that came with her words, sent a shiver of fear up her spine._

"_That was one possible outcome, Abbs. There were several ways that could have turned out. Care to guess what another one could have been?" Tony asked in his quiet tone that spoke of his efforts to calm his real emotions. His friends' lives had been in real jeopardy and he hadn't even known about it until way after the fact. _

"_No, Tony. I'd rather not. Can't we just focus on fixing this?" Abby's tone was pleading."_

"_Yeah. Yeah, we can do that. So long as you promise me; us something, first." Tony answered as he glanced at Ziva to see how she was taking all of this._

"_Okay."_

"_Ziva?" Tony offered his partner the floor on this one since he was fairly confident they were on the same page with this._

"_Thank you, Tony. Abby, you must promise to never be so careless with your safety again."_

"_No, it has to be more than that, Zee." Tony added. "Abby, that means, treating McGee's authority, when Gibbs gives it to him as your protection detail, just like you would mine! Do you understand what we're saying, here?"_

"_Yes. I get it, Tony."_

"_Do you? Are you sure?" Tony pushed._

"_Yes. Really, I do. I get it. And I promise I'll do what you're asking."_

"_Good. Because if Probie ever gets hurt while he's protecting you, because you wanna be stubborn and walk all over him like this again; well, you just don't wanna go there. Abbs." Tony warned calmly. The underlying threat didn't going un-noticed and made Abby shrink back in her chair._

"_I know, Tony." Abby said humbly._

"_I hope you do, Abby. I seriously hope you do. You may be my little sister, but that doesn't mean Probie's expendable for your sake."_

"_I agree." Abby sniffed as tears slid down her face. "Can we hug now, please? I really need to know we're okay again."_

"_We're okay, Abbs. We're okay." Tony answered as he wrapped her in a hug._

"_Thank you." Abby hugged him back with all of her usual bone-crushing strength._

_It didn't take long for Abby to look to Ziva for confirmation that things were okay with them, as well. Ziva nodded and smiled at her. "I agree with Tony on this, Abby. We are okay, as well. But, I expect you to respect McGee from now on and never put him in danger like this again."_

"_I promise." Abby vowed as she broke off from Tony's hug to wrap Ziva in a hug of her own._

_**End Flashback**  
_

At some point during the memory, she had moved to the kitchen and as she sat at her kitchen table sipping her caf-pow, she let her mind go over things that had been said not just last night, but earlier in the week as well, Abby knew the time had come for her to face the music with Gibbs, but the burning question was, _was he ready to talk to her?_

Her phone rang at that moment and when she looked at the caller i.d, her long-standing claim that the man was psychic instantly came to mind. If anything, it was almost as if he had read her thoughts, and that bought smile to her face. Apparently, they were thinking alike, yet again.

"Hi. Gibbs." Abby greeted him quietly.

"Abby. Are you ready to talk?" the man asked without any glimpse of either anger or happiness in his tone. The complete neutral quality of it set Abby's nerves on edge.

_Was it even possible that he was no longer angry with her? It doesn't matter. I still have to talk to him whether he's still pissed at me or not._

"Yes."

"Good. My house at 1. We'll talk over lunch. " Gibbs ended the call and looked over at his friend. "You'll be here?"

"Yes, Jethro. I will be here. You will both need someone to keep the peace. I'll venture that this will not be a pleasant conversation."

"No. No, you're right about that, Duck." Gibbs replied in all seriousness.

"Jethro, what is it that has you still so angry with her?"

"You have any idea, Duck, what's like to see your agent finally let himself get everything he's been holding inside, out? Facing down a drug cartel; offering up his own life for a group of strangers and his 'friend' who'd put him in that position against his will, all the while being scared out of his mind that they were just gonna laugh at him and blow them all away right in front of him, one after the other and then kill him?."

"No, I haven't, Jethro. But, I'm guessing this is what you and Timothy were dealing with during your long absence from work before you both met with Director Vance?"

"Yeah." Gibbs' tone was one that Ducky had only heard once before, the night they mended their friendship after he returned from Mexico. It had that quiet and pain-filled quality to it that tore at the older man's heart.

"You will remember to temper your conversation with the understanding of how Abigail came to believe she could act as she pleased, won't you, Jethro?"

"Abby put him in that position, Ducky! That's not something I can just slap her on the wrist for!"

"No, I should say not, Jethro. But, I strongly suggest you find a way to relieve some of that anger before you talk to her."

"Ducky." Gibbs said with exasperation.

"I'll venture that realizing that one of your 'children' was placed in that position by your favored child, isn't easy to swallow."

"No, Duck, it's not. But, that's not my biggest concern here."

"Oh?"

"My biggest concern is that something like this never happens again."

"Jetho, it is highly unlikely that Abigail will encounter a drug cartel in her everyday life."

"Not what I mean, Duck."

"Would that you could find a way to show her the real danger she faced in a way that would remain with her long after this has blown over." Ducky mused.

Gibbs looked at him for a silent minute as he thought over what he'd said. Suddenly, it came to him. "You know what, Duck? You're right." Taking out his cell phone, he made a call. " Ziva, need you and Tony to do something for me. Yeah. Now."

Lunch with Gibbs and Ducky was somewhat strained as Abby spent her mental brainpower trying to figure out what wasn't being said. Gibbs hadn't even greeted her at the door, Ducky had been the one to do that. And while her silver-haired fox had greeted her when she and Ducky got to the kitchen, it had been much more of a subdued greeting than she could ever remember getting from him before. She hadn't even gotten the typical kiss on the cheek from him.

The silence that soon settled between them was painful and Abby couldn't take it for very long. A mere two minutes after they'd sat down to eat, she had to speak her mind.

"Gibbs, if you're still this angry with me, why am I even here?" she asked with a hint of disappointment mixed with confusion.

"We need to talk." Gibbs answered in his typical no nonsense tone that clearly said she should have guessed the answer already.

"Okay." Abby answered, unwilling to not have something to say.

Again, silence rained down between the three of them. Ducky seemed willing to be the silent witness to whatever it was Gibbs needed to say to her and Abby found herself wishing he'd just get it over with. Suddenly, she had no more appetite and couldn't finish her lunch. Thankfully, both men seemed to be ready to move things along, as well and got up from the table and headed into the living room.

"Need to know something, Abby." Gibbs told her as the three of them settled into seats in the living room.

"Okay." Abby answered with her stomach knotting up. Suddenly, she was sure this was gonna get unpleasant _Was this why Ducky was here; to keep Gibbs from losing his cool? _Abby hoped with all her heart that this could be fixed.

"What was going through your head? the question from the boss startled Abby from her thoughts and had her answering without even stopping to think about what her answer was gonna be.

"Gibbs! I already told all this to the Director!"

"When those guns were cocked and pointed at you, McGee and all those innocent people you took out there with you, what was going through your head?" Gibbs pushed as if she hadn't spoken.

"Gibbs!" Abby cried in disbelief. _Why would he talk to her like this?_

"Did it cross your mind that those people were gonna start killing everyone of you right then and there?" Gibbs ruthlessly kept going, intent on getting his point across.

"Gibbs!" Abby was horrified at the thought. She felt a slice of shock run through her at this most unusual questioning technique

"Jethro!" the M.E. tried to interject a voice of reason.

"No, Ducky! I want some answers!. Because it sure as hell crossed McGee' mind!"

"Oh, Gibbs!" she cried.

"While he stood there, offering his life up for yours and those students; every second of that stand-off, McGee spent in absolute fear that the only thing he had to offer them in return for your safety and those students' safety; his own life, wouldn't be enough for them. He really believed he wasn't gonna live to see another day, Abby."

"Gibbs, I…" Abby stammered through her tears.

The boss needed a breather. He was getting more angry by the minute. Glancing at Ducky, Gibbs turned and left the room.

Abby drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around them, put her head down and cried.

Ducky gave her a few minutes to cry it out and then he took himself over to where she was sitting and sat down beside her. "Abigail. You must calm yourself."

"Oh, Ducky! Timmy's never gonna talk to me again! I almost got him killed! How could I have done that?" Abby cried.

"I'm afraid, that is exactly what you need to uncover within yourself, my dear."

"I don't know how to fix this!" Abby lamented sadly.

"It will most likely prove to be a hard road, for you , my dear. But, I do not believe it to be an impossible one. Timothy is well known for his propensity toward forgiveness."

"Ducky, I doubt very seriously that this will even be a blip on his forgiveness radar."

"Can you blame him?" Gibbs asked from the doorway.

"No, I can't, Gibbs. But, I need to fix this!"

"Can't help you there, Abby. You're gonna have to figure this out for yourself. But, I do have one more question for you"

"Okay."

"You have any idea what it's like to know that at any second, you're gonna be killed and probably in as painful a way as they can think of?"

"No. No, Gibbs, I don't" Abby replied in her tear filled whisper.

"Damn right, you don't. But, every one of my agents do. Tony and Ziva have been there before. McGee? Not until now, except for the case at the women's prison. And to know that his own team member and 'friend' set him up for it, is the real stink of it."

"I get it now. Gibbs."

"I sure as hell hope so, Abby." I sure hope so."

"Jethro, must you have been so harsh on the poor girl?"

"Ducky! I know you wanna blame me for the way she acted down there, but I won't accept responsibility for her bull-headness! And I have never allowed my agents to be so foolish as to deliberately set each other up like that! And I know I can trust them not to! Everyone of them has each other's backs out there, always!"

"Jethro, calm yourself. It's clear you are quite upset on Timothy's behalf and hearing you speak of the fear the young man had to deal with in the midst of his brave actions, I can well appreciate your anger."

"I need her to get it, Ducky. Because until she does, she has no business going anywhere near McGee."

"I don't understand what that…" Abby tried to defensively make her point that there was no connection between the two.

Gibbs took a deep breath and looked Abby square on as he told her what he needed her to understand: "McGee would rather be transferred back to Cyber-Crimes than to be assigned to be your protection detail again, Abby. What does that tell you?"


	21. Chapter 21

Before any of them could say anything else, a knock sounded on Gibbs' door and he left the room to go see to his visitors. It wasn't long before he returned to the living room with Tony and Ziva in tow and with a silent communication; he pointed Tony in the direction of his television. Tony smirked slightly and unpacked the laptop and setting on top of Gibbs' tv before hitting the play button.

As the screen filled with images that were eerily similar to the ones Gibbs had been attempting to depict earlier in their conversation, Abby found herself both horrified and drawn to what she was both seeing and hearing. There were ruthless drug runners and cartel members gunning down anyone who looked at them the wrong way or made the mistake of innocently getting lost in their territory. News clip after news clip, family after family were torn apart by this ruthless, senseless violence and every bit of it hit Abby like a ton of bricks. Abby endured the scenes for nearly ten minutes before feeling the nausea rise to the point where she ran to Gibbs' downstairs bathroom and throwing up.

"That's enough." Ducky declared forcefully after watching his young friend struggle. "Jethro, I…I'm…I'll be outside."

Tony didn't argue as he stopped the video and followed the M.E. out the door to get some air.

"Gibbs, is everything all right?" Ziva asked with concern. She'd never heard the Ducky use that tone before and it un-nerved her more than she would ever admit.

"Stay with Abby." Gibbs directed as he took himself out to his back porch. He knew Ducky was royally pissed at him for getting Tony and Ziva to put together that news footage, but damn it, there was never gonna be a repeat of what happened in Mexico if Gibbs could do anything to prevent it. If he had to upset Abby to make sure she never forgot the possible danger, then so be it. After all, Ducky had made the suggestion, hadn't he?

"Ducky, you all right?" Tony asked as the two of them stood by the cars in the driveway.

"I will be fine, Anthony. At this moment, I simply need to calm myself before I say something regrettable." The M.E.'s voice still held a tinge of anger despite him trying to stay calm in front of Tony.

"It's obvious you're really ticked at Gibbs right now. Mind if I ask why?"

"Nothing for you to be concerned about, Anthony."

"C'mon, Doc. Let me guess, you think the boss is too hard on Abby?"

"Anthony, why don't you and Ziva take Abby and enjoy the afternoon together?" Ducky deflected the question with the hope that his suggestion would make his young friend leave for a while and hopefully, calm Abby down. The last thing he wanted was for Anthony to get caught in any crossfire.

"Yeah. Okay. Good idea, but if you wanna talk Ducky…." Tony gave in, took the hint and left Ducky to cool off, as he turned to go back inside and rescue the women from the midst of what appeared to be a serious disagreement between Ducky and Gibbs.

"Thank you, Anthony. I appreciate that." Ducky shot Tony a grateful, tight smile.

"Anytime, Ducky. See you later." Tony made his way indoors leaving Ducky standing there to fume alone. As he reached the hallway that led to the living room, Tony stopped as his ears picked up a conversation already going on.

"Ziva, I never meant to put anyone in that kind of danger!" Abby's plaintive voice carried in the throes of anxiousness could be heard clearly.

"Abby, the point is that you understand now that you did and that you make sure it does not happen again." Ziva's calm but firm voice was also clearly heard, although not nearly as loud.

"I know. But, how am I supposed to fix this? Gibbs is so pissed at me! Timmy's never gonna speak to me again! Did you know he told Gibbs he'd rather go back to Cyber-crimes than be assigned to protect me again? How much worse can things be?" Abby cried discouragingly.

"Oh, it's worse." Tony said from the doorway. "But, I gotta tell ya, Probie being willing to get kicked back to the basement that he hated, is almost as bad as it can get. There is actually a bigger problem right now."

"What do you mean, Tony?" Ziva asked in concern.

"You can add Ducky being royally pissed at Gibbs for taking this hard line with you, Abby." Tony shook his head slightly and ran his hand through his hair. "I haven't seen him this pissed at Gibbs since the boss came back from his four month stint in Mexico."

"Oh, no! No! This is not happening!" Abby cried as she jumped up off the couch and stormed over to Tony. "Where is he?"

"He being…?" Tony asked.

"Ducky!"

"Out in the driveway. He asked me to leave him alone." Tony said with an air of a warning.

"And Gibbs?"

"On his back porch." Ziva jumped in knowing where the boss had gone.

"I am NOT gonna let this get any worse. This stops now! I did this and I need to fix it!" Abby declared as she marched herself out to the driveway to talk to Ducky.

Tony and Ziva looked at each other with a hint of a smirk. Sure, Abby needed to fix this but it was kinda funny to see her in this mode. It was just a crying shame that it took this to finally get her off her rear-end to do what needed to be done for other people, instead of just moping around because she didn't like the consequences that had been doled out to her for her own mis-deeds.

Peace was once again restored, Abby style, within 30 minutes and the entire group was now sitting comfortably out on the back porch reminiscing about old times with the team. Abby had risen to the occasion spectacularly and had managed to smooth out the wrinkles that she had created; restoring the harmony as best she could. Soon, the afternoon slipped away and dinner time rolled around leaving Abby with the sudden need to try to reach out to Tim. It seemed so wrong that he wasn't here with them.

"I wanna call Timmy." she told the group tentatively.

"What, No! That is seriously not a good idea." Tony exclaimed almost instantly.

"Come on, Tony. What harm can it do? I have to talk to him eventually." Abby wheedled

"Abigail, Anthony is right. Maybe you should leave it a little while, hmm?" Ducky interjected calmly. He knew that it wouldn't end well and wanted to try to stop his young friend from making a mistake that she would later regret. He was worried that her rash decision would possibly cause either herself or Timothy more pain.

"Gibbs, what do you think?" Abby turned to the boss to see him sitting there silently glaring at her. Everything in his look told her that he was against this idea but her sudden impulsion and her innate pushiness soon toppled their warnings.

"I just want to talk to him. Nothing more, come on, guys!" She pled earnestly.

"Abby. Why do you want to talk to him right now?" Ziva asked "You should let him simper down."

"Simmer. Zeevah. Simmer down" Tony drawled "But she's right, Abb's."

"No. I need to do this!" She stood up and started to make her way inside, but was stopped by Gibbs' hand as it reached out and snagged ahold of her arm, holding on just tight enough that Abby knew better than to struggle.

"If ya gonna do it, you do it out here, on speakerphone." the boss directed forcefully.

"Gibbs….!"

"NO! Your actions have already affected my entire team, Abby. You wanna talk to McGee, you do it my way or not at all!."

Abby finally conceded and pulled out her phone and dialed the number before hitting the speakerphone button. The group could hear ringing for a moment before the call was picked up. Abby's stomach fluttered with nerves.

"Agent McGee's phone, may I help you?" came a soft woman's voice that was strangely familiar, though Abby struggled to put her finger on it.

"Who is it, sweetheart?" Tim's voice was faint in the background as he called to the mysterious woman answering his phone.

Abby disconnected the call without saying a word and sat frozen in shock. _Timmy has a girlfriend?_

After a few moments of the kind of strained silence that spoke volumes, Abby finally caught on to the fact that everyone had known about this and knew that there was a distinct possibility that she would find out with that one phone call. The fact that they all possessed that little nugget of information hurt but what really rubbed salt into the wound was the fact that no one had told her. Their knowledge was written all over their faces.

"You all knew he has a girlfriend and you didn't tell me?" Abby asked in outrage. She could tell by the looks on their faces that they knew. Not only that, from the looks of things, they even knew who she was!

"Probie's private life is not your business, Abby." Tony's strong objection shocked her but she held her ground firmly.

"Tony, we all tell each other everything." Abby said with enough attitude to hopefully spark some reactions from the people around her.

"No, Abby, We do not. There is plenty that we do not tell each other, McGee even more so." Ziva reminded her. "We were not at liberty to tell you something that was his to tell."

"Abigail, you cannot fault us for respecting Timothy's privacy, especially with things so extremely strained between the two of you at the moment." Ducky reasoned with a soft tone that was supposed to placating. He was relieved when she backed down.

"Yeah. Okay. I guess I can't blame you guys. I kinda understand why Tim wouldn't tell me."

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like you guys have the best relationship. I mean you two have been over for years now, Abby. You've never wanted him back, remember?" Tony pushed.

"Just because I didn't want to break Rule #12, doesn't mean I don't wanna know when he's dating someone!"

"Not your decision, Abby." Gibbs broke in and reminded her with that steel laced voice that they didn't argue with. "Now, can we drop this? Ducky has something to tell all of you." He said with a smirk, as he headed back into the house.

* * *

"Pam?" Tim watched Pam looking at his phone and felt his brow furrow with concern as she stood there holding the device, looking at it sadly.

"It was Abby. She hung up without speaking." Pam worried as she looked at him with her concern shining in her eyes. She didn't want to mess up his relatiionship with his team. He'd worked too hard to find his niche with them.

"Honey, don't worry about it. She'll get over it." He moved closer to her and hoped that his gentle words would soothe her.

"You think so?" She worried some more.

"Yes, I do. And you know what? If she doesn't, then too bad for her." Tim continued on with a resolve that was rarely heard coming from the young man.

"Who are you and what have you done with Timothy McGee? That is not you talking!" Pam asked with a gentle smile. They had been together long enough for her to recognize the signs that all was not right with her boyfriend. "Something about her is still bothering you. Out with it." She pushed in a softer tone.

Tim looked away. He couldn't hide the fact that she was right but he wasn't ready to risk losing her over this.

"Tim. Everything. All of you; remember?" she whispered gently in his ear before moving in for a chaste kiss.

"Pam." Tim whispered back emotionally after she pulled away enough to look him in the eye and infuse him with the strength to open up to her.

"I promise you. I'm not walking away from you, no matter what you have to tell me."The promise was sealed by the tears that shone in her eyes. The moment was so surreal, that her emotions threatened to spill over. "Trust me, Tim, please? Let me in, honey."

Tim took a deep breath and silently searched her eyes for any sign that she might be wavering on this. Finding, none, he let his breath out slowly, nodded, took her hand and led her over to the couch so that they could sit down together.

"You're right. I didn't say anything sooner because there's only so much we can talk about in one day. To be honest, I just haven't wanted to even think about it until now." Tim admitted.

"It's okay, honey. Just tell me what's going on." Pam let him off the hook as she wrapped her arms around his waist and twisted her body to look directly into his pale green eyes. "Maybe I can help."

Tim took another deep breath, closed his eyes for a minute and exhaled slowly as he opened his eyes. With a soft sigh, he handed her the last hidden piece of himself.

"It's Jethro."

* * *

Sunday lunch loomed ahead like a beacon in the storm for Tim and after checking with Ducky, he and Pam arrived at 12:30 with an extremely eager Jethro with them. After talking things out with Pam, Tim was able to separate the pain of how he'd gotten the dog from the relationship he'd built with his faithful Alsatian since then. They'd spent the remainder of yesterday afternoon and all evening just enjoying each other's company after they'd gone and gotten Jethro from the kennel.

The whole afternoon was spent outdoors in the sunshine as they let Jethro wear himself out playing fetch with his ball. They'd devoted all of their time and attention yesterday on into last night, to reconnecting with the canine and doing it together had bonded all three of them even closer together. As the day had gone on and Pam had remained by Tim's side, almost reading his mind when he needed to stop and redirect his thoughts or needed an encouraging smile or hug to get past that stubborn wayward negative thought about the dog, and given him every bit of support he'd needed. By the end of the day,with Pam's help, that part of his life was settling back up on its' axis and once again revolving normally leaving Tim with the feeling that he didn't know what he'd have done without her and hoped and prayed that he never would have to find out.

After greeting Ducky and offering to help, Pam stayed with the M.E. while Tim was banished to the back yard to spend time with his faithful dog. No sooner had he stepped through the patio doors, he found himself on the receiving end of a head slap.

"Hey! Boss?" Tim reacted without thinking.

"Were you gonna tell me?" Gibbs asked him with a touch of anger that made his voice sound slightly steely.

"Tell you what, Boss?" Tim's confusion was genuine and he frowned whilst rubbing the back of his head.

"About your intent to quit so Pam wouldn't have to?"

"Boss, I didn't say anything to you because you already promised to help us with it." Tim's faith that it wouldn't have come down to making that choice with Gibbs' help, was written all over the young mans' face and it floored the Team Leader.

"Yeah?"

"Yes! Honest" Tim vowed.

"Okay." Gibbs nodded with a grin and a look of pride directed at his agent and headed back into the house.

Tim relaxed as he sat down on the wooden steps and sat back to think. He was actually comfortable with himself and almost everything within his life for the first time in as long as he could remember. As Jethro raced up to him carrying his beloved chew rope in his mouth, Tim laughed and played his pet's favorite game of tug-o-war with him for a minute before letting him think he'd won, and letting go. He couldn't help but laugh at Jethro's momentary loss of balance with the shift of weight and tossed the toy down the yard for his dog to fetch as soon as the dog dropped it.

"About time we hear that, Probie." Tony told him from the back gate. "I was kinda missing it."

"What are you guys doing here?" Tim stood and greeted Tony and Ziva as he watched them come into the yard through the back gate.

"Apparently, this is a team cook out, Probie" Tony said with his usua teasing tone.

"Oh." Tim's eyes widened at the revelation and he blushed furiously.

"McGee. How are you?" Ziva greeted from behind Tony before giving him a gently shove so that they both get through the gate and close it behind them.

"I'm fine, you guys?"

"We're fine, Probie. Hey, you come alone?"

"No." Tim chuckled. "Not likely anymore, Tony. I have no reason not to bring Pam, now. She's in the kitchen helping Ducky."

"Oh. Saw Gibbs' car, where's he?"

"Right here, DiNozzo. Ziva. How are you?" Gibbs replied as he came back out onto his back deck. He'd heard the cars in the driveway and wanted to watch how his team was interacting at this point.

"We are fine, Gibbs. I will go help Ducky with the preparations." Ziva answered and made her excuse to leave the guys alone to talk.

"Hey, guys." The timid greeting from the back gate had Tim turning sharply towards the voice. He was in shock and standing there in complete silence.

"Abby." Greeted Gibbs quietly as he glanced at Tim. Hopefully, keeping the kid out of the loop this time wouldn't come back to bite them in the butt. The boss was counting on his agent's impeccable manners to carry him over the rough spot he'd just been put in. It seemed like the best way to get them over this awkward phase on the road to patching this mess up.

Tim's heart stopped in his throat. _He wasn't ready for this. What's more he hadn't been expecting it. Why would they just spring this on him?_


	22. Chapter 22

_"Hey, guys." The timid greeting from the back gate had Tim turning sharply towards the voice. He was in shock and standing there in complete silence._

"Abby." Greeted Gibbs quietly as he glanced at the young man.

Tim wasn't ready for this. _What's more he hadn't been expecting it. Why would they just spring this on him? _His heart stopped in his throat as heremained frozen in place; his eyes locked on Gibbs' as the older man seemed to be gauging his reaction without showing any signs of being the slightest bit surprised at Abby's arrival. Feeling like he'd just been baited and trapped, Tim silently glowered as his mind processed the scene in front of him. _Had the man really just done this to him? Why would Gibbs set him up like this after everything he'd let the man in on about everything he'd gone through with Abby? _

A wave of anger rose up from deep inside him towards man he'd trusted with _most_ of his deepest, darkest pain about this woman. Quickly, it curled around every nerve in his body. It grated and soon wound its' way through him to the point he was almost choking on it. But the deep rooted politeness that had been instilled into him won out as he forced himself to shove that wave back down enough that he could glance at Abby and at least acknowledge her presence.

"Abby." He half greeted in a painfully quiet tone that barely reached her from across the yard before he turned and started to head back into the house without a backwards glance.

Tony scowled at his boss. _Was this the plan? Force Probie into a confrontation with Abby? What kind a hair-brained scheme was that?_

Gibbs glared at Tony's silent reaction that had censure written all over it and gestured for him to look after Abby before he quickly moved to head off Tim's retreat. Stepping into his younger agent's path, he prepared himself for the justified anger he'd seen flash in the young man's eyes.

"McGee." Gibbs quietly brought Tim up short and acknowledged his youngest agent's fury with a look of understanding.

"Were you gonna tell me?" Tim asked him with anger and the sense that he'd been seriously let down, in his voice. Surprisingly, he found that he could look his boss in the eye as he gave him back the very same question he'd been asked earlier.

"Yeah, McGee. I was. She's early." The older man explained with a note of apology in his voice.

Tim nodded silently in acceptance of the man's intentions. Sure they had been misguided, but Gibbs' heart had obviously been in the right place. If anything, it was a shame that had gone awry. Looking away from him, Tim's eyes hit the ground as he tried to rein in what he was feeling.

"I want my team back, McGee." Gibbs told him with a deep, resolute honestly mixed into that tone that that none of them ever argued with

Tim looked back up at him and sighed. "Yes, Sir."

Gibbs understood the kids' reservations and with a slight frown, he tried to infuse his agent with just enough compassion to get him over this moment. He deliberately let the Tim's formal address slide knowing full well Tim only said it to him when he was under pressure from the authoritative gun.

"McGee, you've gotta move on."

Tim nodded in agreement but still had something to ask.

"I need a minute."

Having quietly made his request, the young man headed into the house; Gibbs let him go. He tried to rationalize everything that had just been said when he was pulled out of his thoughts by Abby's voice behind him.

"See, Gibbs! I told you he wouldn't forgive me!" Abby cried as soon as Tim was out of earshot.

"You're early!" Gibbs snapped at her. "If you'd done what I told you to do and been here at 1:30, he would have known you were comin' and he wouldn't have been blindsided!"

"Oh." Abby managed to get out as she struggled to swallow the crow she'd just been handed.

"This your idea of fixing things with him, Abby?" Gibbs asked as he tried to rein in his frustration and anger at the way things were happening.

"No, Gibbs. I'm sorry. I didn't know you weren't gonna tell him till the last minute!" Abby defended herself.

"She has a point, Boss." Tony chimed in cautiously in case the boss' anger turned on him.

"Yeah, DiNozzo, I know. You're right, Abbs. I shoulda told him sooner but you still should have waited."

Silence reined in the air between the three people left out back in the wake of this unexpected turn of events.

*****NCIS******

Tim walked into the house and found the kitchen a beehive of activity. Ducky, Pam and Ziva chatted comfortably as they prepared side dishes and fresh toppings for their burgers and hotdogs and Tim couldn't help but feel slightly better at the friendliness and camaraderie that was there. He beat a hasty, silent retreat so that he wasn't in the way or roped into doing anything and soon found himself relishing the serenity that the small, quiet living room brought.

The chatter soon hushed when the three people standing in the kitchen saw Tim slip away into the living room. Each and every one of them could see that he was upset but it was Pam who put down the dish towel down in the counter before going after him just after the door closed behind her boyfriend.

"Ducky, what could that be about?" Ziva asked with a confused tone.

"I'll wager Abigail has arrived early. Timothy was most likely caught completely unprepared for her arrival. It's the only reason that I can come up with at the moment."

"Why would that bother McGee?"

"He most likely feels like he has been cornered into something he wasn't ready or willing to deal with, my dear. I'm certain things will work themselves out before the day is over. All we can do is be here to help, if and when it becomes necessary." Ducky directed as he led the way out back.

"What do we do now?" Abby finally asked with worry.

"We fire up the grill and get this barbecue started." Said Ducky from the porch where he'd just come from the kitchen. As Ziva helped him carry drinks to the table, Abby joined them while Tony and Gibbs headed to the grill to get it fired up and the charcoals burning.

"Think they'll work through this, Boss?" Tony asked quietly.

"Yup." Gibbs answered without a doubt.

"Wanna bet on which one plays nice first?" Tony joked.

"My money's on Pam." Gibbs quipped.

"What? Boss, you don't even know her! How can you…" Tony sputtered as Gibbs grinned at him.

*****NCIS*****

"Tim?" Pam questioned as she joined him on the loveseat in the living room.

"Abby's here." Tim answered the question she hadn't yet asked but was destined to ask next.

"You didn't know she was coming."

"I didn't know_ anyone_ else was coming." Tim explained with an air of frustration.

"You're upset because Ducky and Gibbs weren't upfront with you about the full scope of their plans for this cookout." She verbally reasoned out; it was strange, but she always seemed to know exactly what he was thinking.

"Yeah."

"Oh, Honey. I know it doesn't feel right that they handled it like this, but it's obvious that they're doing it for your benefit."

"Huh? How do you figure that, Pam?" Tim didn't mean to snap, but the questions held more than a little bit of bewilderment and disbelief. To his relief, Pam didn't flinch or get angry.

"Gibbs wants his team back together, honey. He wants to get it back to where it was before everything happened and that team includes Abby. He obviously wasn't willing to shove her down your throat at work without giving the two of you time to work through it away from the office, first. Considering this is Gibbs we're talking about, you should take this compassion while it's available and be thankful he's not just telling you to 'deal with it'." She reminded him with a warm smile.

"I know. I really do and you're right but what do I say to her, Baby? I don't even want to try to talk to her. I'm …" he stumbled over his admission as the right words evaded him.

Pam gave him the room to think through the obviously jumbled thoughts in his head. Tim only stumbled with what he had to say when he couldn't gather his thoughts enough to say the words. She knew he needed to finish thinking this through before he'd calm down.

Tim stood up and walked over to Ducky's big picture window that overlooked the backyard. It was strange, but he just needed to see an wide open space and needed the freedom that it would provide. He watched as Ziva and Ducky joined the others outside and was amazed by how they all just gravitated toward pitching in with full cooperation. It had Tim feeling slightly out of place.

Turning away from the window, to walk back over to Pam, he pulled her to her feet and wrapped her in a hug. "Thank you."

"You're so welcome, Sweetie. Just relax, okay?" Pam soothed as she hugged him back.

Silently, they stayed locked in that embrace that bolstered both of them with much needed support and love, enough to hopefully see them through what was most likely going to be a rough afternoon.

*****NCIS*****

"You couldn't just tell me this was a team cookout when you called me, Gibbs?" Vance asked grumpily when he arrived at the back gate with a flustered looking Jimmy right behind him. As Vance was complaining, the younger man beat a hasty retreat into the space beside Ziva, where Jethro happened to be laying contentedly. Jimmy quickly sat himself down by the dog and busied himself lavishing the Alsatian with attention so he could ignore the sparks that flew around him.

"It's a little bit more than that, Director." Ducky answered before Gibbs could say anything. "I requested that Jethro invite you. I do hope you don't mind."

"It's not the invite that I mind, Doctor Mallard. It's the hidden agenda I'm sensing that I don't appreciate." Vance told him pointedly. Looking around, he was surprised to find Abby there and equally surprised to find Tim's dog but no sign of Tim. As his eyes completed their sweep of the yard, he caught sight of the fact that there were people inside Ducky's house, as could be seen through the large window.

"Director, would you care to help me bring out the steaks? I do believe the grill is ready for them." Ducky requested as he threw a glance at Gibbs, knowingly. "Hello, Mr. Palmer. Make yourself comfortable with the others, won't you?"

"Think I'll come with ya, Duck. I could use a refill on my coffee." The silver-haired Team Leader said with something surprisingly close to a grin.

As the three of them traipsed into the house, silence somehow had come to call on those who were retreating and those who stayed behind. Before anyone could say anything out in the yard, Abby was scurrying to catch up with the men heading into the house. She wanted to talk to Vance. It had thrown her that he'd shown up and now she wanted to test the waters to see if he was still pissed at her.

*****NCIS*****

Pam pulled out of the embrace and tenderly placed her hands on either side of Tim's face so she could gently kiss him chastely with all of her heart poured into it. Tim held her in the kiss and soaked up every ounce of what she was offering.

The happy couple were unaware of having an audience and missed the four people moving back to the kitchen; one with a warm smile, one with a grin and two in shock at what they had just witnessed. They had all walked in on Tim and Pam completely caught up in their moment of passion and blissfully unaware that they were not alone.

Abby didn't stop in the kitchen. She was too upset to be around anyone at the moment and inconspicuously as possible made her way to the front porch to be alone and to think. She'd had Tim without any other woman in his life seriously enough to even come close to take his heart like this, for so long now, seeing him with Pam like that was a hard pill to swallow.

_Pam? Leon's Assistant? It was obvious they're incredibly close. How could Abby have missed the signs? How long had they been dating? Oh, no! What about the less than nice things Abby said to Pam about Tim the day she was told he was her escort to Mexico? Pam had been so objective, Abby had never suspected. Oh, man! Pam probably thought the worst of her now! And here, all this time, Abby thought she and Pam were friends!_

_And what about Timmy? Was this the reason he wouldn't come near her now? He barely even acknowledged her presence when she'd gotten here! This just wasn't like him at all!_

"Abigail?" Ducky called to her from the front door, pulling her from her racing thoughts and emotions.

Wiping her eyes, she answered him. "Hi. Ducky."

"You seem quite upset at witnessing how close Timothy and Pamela have become, my dear. Might I ask why?" the M.E. asked gently as he crossed the porch and sat down beside her on the swing.

"It's all such a shock, Ducky. I mean McGee in a relationship that serious?" Abby spouted. "It's obvious they've been seeing each other for a while."

"Abigail, what is it about this that is such a shock? Is it that Timothy has risked his heart again and this time finally found someone who treasures him for the person he is, or that he has managed to keep his private life so private for so long?"

"I guess it's both, Ducky. And it's Pam! I thought she and I were friends all this time and I had no clue! Why wouldn't she tell me?"

"Abigail, it's clear your idea of being friends with someone is not quite the same as Pamela's. I, for one, am thrilled that our young Timothy has finally found someone to love him for who he is. Heavens knows, he's suffered badly enough on the road to love. Let's hope the two of them are right for each other and can have the lasting relationship they both deserve, hmm? I for one would love to see them get married and have that family they both want."

"Married?" Abby choked out as she felt the wind leave her lungs in a rush.

"Abigail, if you wish to have any chance of being Timothy's friend, you must learn to let go of him." Ducky advised as he patted her knee and got up to head back inside.

*****NCIS*****

After a few moments of tense silence, it was broken with a touch of anger.

"That's quite some hidden agenda, Gibbs." Vance said irritably. "That why you asked me here; to let me see for myself that my assistant is romantically involved with your agent?"

"That was part of it, Director." Ducky, once again took the conversational bull by the horns. "My main objective for asking Jethro to invite you was so that you could help soothe those young people's fear that their jobs are not in jeopardy because they have discovered that they love each other."

"What are you talking about, Doctor Mallard?"

"Director, Pamela is petrified that you will force her to resign her position if she intends to continue seeing Timothy, which she does. She has no intentions of breaking his fragile heart in order to keep her position, therefore, she believes that she has reason to worry." The M.E. explained.

"Fragile?" Vance scoffed.

"McGee's been through hell with the few women he's dated, Leon." Gibbs added with complete seriousness. "You were there for the last one's real intentions."

"Oh, right. The one that tried to kill him." Vance replied with little concern.

"Yes, Director. That is correct. I will admit I thought that if you saw Timothy and Pamela together without any outside influence, you would be able to see that they are good for each other and they have no trouble working at the Agency together. They have managed very well so far and it hasn't interfered with their jobs or professional relationship at all." Ducky turned and headed out onto his porch, having seen Abby retreat there silently. It was blatantly obvious that she needed a friendly shoulder to lean on at the moment and the kindly M.E. was just the person to provide it.

"Why would I have a problem with my assistant dating your agent, Gibbs?"

"Dunno, Leon. Why would you? Guess that's the question they need the answer to. In case you haven't been listening, that's what today's for." Gibbs reminded him as he snagged his fresh cup of coffee and headed back out to the backyard.

Tim and Pam had already gone back and were talking to Tony and Ziva. Gibbs watched as Ziva snagged Tim's arm and gently encouraged him to walk with her as they talked. Pam and Tony seemed to be talking about something serious as they sat in chairs near the grill. Gibbs was curious to know about what, but also needed to check on the food because leaving Tony to man the grill alone with all the food being cooked on it wasn't necessarily a good idea. As he ambled over to check on the steaks, he could plainly hear the conversation already in progress

"…that's all I'm asking Tony. Don't tease him about any of what happened down there. He's too scarred by it and It's gonna take time for him to heal."

"He seems fine to me, Pam." Tony advised her.

"Tony, you know that we hide our deepest scars from those who think they know us best. It's one of the defense mechanisms that we have that protects us from being hurt." Pam advised him with an intense look.

"What are you saying? You saying he hasn't told me everything?"

"Should he have? Isn't he entitled to some privacy, especially when it comes to how things affect him on the inside?" she pushed seriously.

"But, he knows I have his back. I'm his big brother." Tony objected.

"Tony. Let it go. Let him handle this in his own way. He'll come to you if and when he wants to. Give him the space to breathe through it, all right? And don't forget, you and Gibbs were the ones who pounded it into his head that he had to be tough to make it on this team"

"But, I didn't mean… You'll tell me when…?"

"No. No, that's Tim's choice. I won't be telling tales out of school, Tony. I simply wanted to ask that you don't tease him about what happened down there."

"Yeah, Okay. He's okay, though, right?" Tony's question laid his concern on the table."

"He's getting there." Pam answered honestly.

"Think you can get him to patch things up with Abby?"

"Now that he realizes Gibbs' intentions here today weren't meant to be hurtful, yes. I do. Tim's forgiving nature is still there. It's just severely battered and bruised right now and needs a little help."

"Well, I'm glad he has you. It's obvious you two are great for each other. Well, not that I know you very well, yet; but, it's obvious that Probie's happy."

"Tim's a great guy. I'm very lucky to have found him." Pam answered as she smiled at him and stood up in readiness to walk away. Suddenly, she stopped when she realized that Gibbs had been just behind them at the grill while they'd talked. Her nerves twisted in her stomach like a punch in the gut. _How much had he heard?_

"Got a minute?" he asked in quiet seriousness as she moved to step away from both of them.

"Sure." She answered with quiet nervousness.

"Tony, you got this now?" Gibbs asked as he pointed to the grill.

"Yeah, Boss, I got this. Relax, I'm not gonna burn anything." The younger man said as he got up and took his post back by the grill.

"Good. Better not or I'll sic both Abby and Ziva on your ass." Gibbs joked before he turned and walked with Pam over to the vacant table. He waited for her to sit down before settling in next to her so they could talk without being overheard.

"I need you to do something for me."

"Okay. If I can, Agent Gibbs."

*****NCIS*****

From his perch on the porch steps, Tim watched his boss talking to Pam as he lavished attention on the dog that had sat down in between his legs. He had no idea what was going on, but his girlfriend had gone from a deep and meaningful conversation with Tony and was now chatting freely to Gibbs. He knew that there was no malice in it and that no matter what, that wonderful woman would be trying to make things right. _What had he done that had earned him this angel?_ It actually calmed his inner nerves to see her relate so well with his team and the fact that she had no qualms about talking to them one on one meant the world to Tim. It was his greatest wish at this moment and he wanted nothing more than for them to accept her into their 'family'. Considering he never wanted to let this woman go, this was an important step and he was so happy to see it just fall into place like this. He didn't know but he did know he loved her more than any woman he'd ever loved before, including Abby.

_Abby._ _Yeah, he did need to talk to her and get this over with, but what the hell could he say? _Tim felt uncomfortable with the idea of talking to her just one on one. For some reason, that idea sent a fission of unease down his spine. Watching the woman currently the subject of his thoughts suddenly return to the backyard, he felt a moment of sadness for the obvious signs that she'd been crying. He hadn't meant to hurt her. But, him living his life in his own way shouldn't hurt her like this to begin with.

As he sat there thinking, he noticed Pam and Gibbs parting company and his beautiful girlfriend immediately seeking Abby out. Not the least bit worried, Tim stayed where he was and wished he could eavesdrop, but wouldn't dare do such a thing. Palmer popped up from inside the house and seated himself beside Tim and the two of them were soon engrossed in teasing and playing with the dog.

*****NCIS*****

Pam walked up to Abby and gently placed her hand on her arm in a gesture of good will. "Abby? Can we talk?"

"Okay."

"It's obvious that you're really upset. If I have anything to do with that, I'm really sorry."

"I thought we were friends, Pam. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Abby, you and I get along great in the office. But, we've never done anything outside of work. Think about it, we've never even so much as called each other over the phone. I think you and I have completely different ideas of the meaning of 'friends'."

"Yeah. I guess so." Abby admitted guiltily. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Abby, I need to be able to talk to you, woman to woman. Can I do that?"

"Of course, Pam. Anything you need to talk about, I'm here for you."

"Abby, I'm talking about where Tim's concerned." Pam corrected Abby's assumption.

"Oh. Okay. Well, what about him?"

"Abby, Tim needs you to let go of him." Pam told her gently.

"Why does everyone keep telling me that?" Abby demanded.

"Because it's the truth. The way you treated him in Mexico; the way you treat him when you want something and won't take no for an answer. It has possession written all over it and you really need to realize that, and let go. He's with me now and I won't hurt him but, Abby, I won't let you hurt him anymore, either. He's been hurt enough; more than enough; too much, really."

*****NCIS*****

Tim watched as his former girl friend and his current one talked beyond his hearing range. Although he couldn't see their faces, their body language spoke volumes. Abby was slouched and defeated while Pam was erect and serious, unrelenting, yet trying to be less than harsh. Their shoulders did most of the talking, along with their hands. While he had complete faith in Pam, he worried about Abby's reaction to the new woman in his life; especially since it was abundantly clear that he and Pam were committed to each other.

"Agent McGee." Vance's voice jerked him from his thoughts and brought Jimmy to his feet beside him in a rush of nerves. "I'm gonna go help Ducky. Again." The M.E.'s assistant sputtered as he hightailed it past the Director and back into the house from which Ducky had yet to come from.

"Sir?" Tim asked as he got to his feet.

"I don't appreciate being kept in the dark, Agent McGee."

"Yes, Sir."

"Am I correct in assuming that that decision was Ms. Cook's?"

"Well, Sir…"

"Relax, McGee. I'm not gonna fire her either way. I just wanna know."

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, I will say this and you and I will be done with this conversation, Agent McGee. Treat her right and keep it off the job, and you and I will have no conflict with this." Vance vowed.

"Yes, Sir. Thank you." Tim answered with gratitude.

"You're welcome." Vance answered as he headed over to the picnic table for a drink.

Tim breathed out a sigh of relief. Gibbs had been right. Now he just needed Pam to get the good news and they could really begin to relax in this relationship and start building on It without fear of consequences.

*****NCIS*****

Lunch was announced by Ducky a short time later and all conversations were dropped as the group herded toward the table in hunger. Once their plates were full, they all sat at Ducky's large picnic table and chatted about inconsequential things and it wasn't long before they found themselves caught up in humorous memories from the years spent on the team.

As their food settled and their spirits grew restless, Tony threw out the dare for a game of badminton, for which he'd spied the net set up in an unused corner of the yard. Ducky retrieved his racquets and birdies and watched alongside Gibbs and Vance, in amusement, as the younger group soon lost themselves in a healthy competition of the ladies against the gentlemen. With Tim, Tony and Jimmy on one side and Abby, Ziva and Pam on the other, it wasn't long before both Ducky and Vance found themselves on opposite sides of the playing field as line judges, leaving Gibbs to enjoy the spectacle before him, with only a disappointed and left out Jethro for company.

Three entirely hilarious and lengthy sets later, the boys were declared the winner of 2 out of the 3 and all participants retired to the table and available chairs for a much needed drink. As they headed in that direction, Pam found herself waylaid by her boss as he quietly requested her attention.

"Yes, Sir?" she asked.

"I'll tell you what I told Agent McGee, Ms. Cook. I don't appreciate being kept in the dark about this. I have a healthy suspicion that that it was your decision to do so and while I can respect the fact that you were concerned for your job. I expected a little more from you than fear, after all this time, Ms. Cook."

"I'm sorry, Sir."

"I am too. I'm sorry you didn't think you could be straight with me. But, I will say this. So long as you can keep it out of work, and you two are good to each other, we'll have no further need to discuss this." Vance told her.

"Thank you, Sir."

"No need to thank me, Ms. Cook. But, maybe you'll find it within yourself to trust me a little in the future?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Now, shall we go get a drink?"

Pam smiled with both relief and humor as she made a beeline for Tim who was obviously waiting for her with both a smile and a glass of iced tea. As she took it from him with a smile of thanks, he leaned over and kissed her on the cheek and whispered in her ear.

Her answering smile lit her eyes and she kissed him back and whispered something back to him. With a matching smile he finished his drink, leaving all those around them wondering what they'd missed, but letting their own imaginations work on it when no explanation was forthcoming.

*****NCIS*****

Vance left shortly after the drinks had been finished off and his departure seemed to bring an end to the rest period. Pam stood up and started clearing up the mess and it wasn't long before Tim, Ziva and Jimmy were soon pitching in with trash cleanup while Tony and Abby started carrying things back into the house. Ducky was amazed that, in the blink of an eye, his backyard was spotless and his grill was in the process of being cleaned by Gibbs, leaving him nothing to do but relax. Ducky knew that all the others were inside cleaning up his kitchen and made to get up and go help them.

"Jethro, I…"

"Relax, Duck. Let 'em be. They like doing what they can for ya. You oughta know that by now. Sit. Relax."

"We should do this more often, Jethro." Ducky suggested as he sat back down.

"Yeah, I agree, Duck. We should. Not somethin' I'm used to, but I suppose it'd be nice if we did it more often."

"I do believe we accomplished what we set out to. I did see Vance speaking with both Timothy and Pamela and they both look very much relieved and even as though there is no more weight on their shoulders."

"Still something left to take care of, Duck." Gibbs warned as he came and sat down next to his friend.

"Oh? Ah, yes, we still need to get Timothy and Abigail to talk. Have they spoken with each other at all today?"

"Nope."

"oh, dear. It's not like Timothy to act this way, Jethro."

"Give him time. The day's young."

"You seem rather confident."

"Like you said, Duck. This isn't like McGee. It's temporary. He'll be fine."

"And what makes you certain of this?"

"Easy, Doc. I told him I want my team back."

"Oh, Jethro!"

"Duck, he' gotta move on. I just gave him the right motivation to do it."

"I hope you're right."

"I know I am."

*****NCIS*****

Inside Ducky's kitchen, Tim and Jimmy were bagging trash and carrying the full bags out to Ducky's trash bins while the ladies were washing up the dishes and loading up Ducky's dishwasher. Tony was busy wrapping the food leftovers and finding room in the refrigerator and let the chatter flow over him. It was the lack of tension and emotions that told him that the evening had been a partial success and that knowledge bought a smile to his face.

It wasn't long before all was set to rights again and the gang trouped back outside to the backyard. Tony glanced at his watch and was shocked to see that it was soon going to be dinner time. He had plans for the night and knew that Tim and Pam probably did too, but, he also knew that Tim and Abby had yet to talk things out. Maybe he, Ziva and Jimmy should leave and let the others work through what was left of this Mexican fiasco.

Whispering as much to Ziva and Jimmy, the three gave their thanks to Ducky and Gibbs and took their leave, saying their goodbyes to the others and heading out through the back gate. Suddenly, only Abby, Tim and Pam were left sitting there with Ducky and Gibbs.


	23. Chapter 23

_A/N: First, we'd like to apologise for the delay. _

_Next: We'd like to issue the following warning: This chapter includes a very angry Tim McGee. That is a creature seldom seen and even more seldom supported by the team and team leader. _

_Shall we see where having an angry Tim McGee in the mix takes us?__  


* * *

__Suddenly, only Abby, Tim and Pam were left sitting there with Ducky and Gibbs._

The atmosphere in Ducky's backyard changed instantly as if to warn of the storm ahead. Tim had seen it coming and found himself frozen in place as the fear of being backed into a corner resurfaced with nothing else accompanying that fear that would help. Pam had tried to reason it out earlier and what she'd said had made sense but he still hadn't been able to wrap his mid around what he was going to say to Abby that would be remotely suitable. No matter how much he tried; no matter how much he listened to those who tried to help, the words just simply weren't there. Tim knew that Gibbs understood where he was coming from and wasn't trying to be cruel or cold about the whole thing, but Tim doubted that the man understood what it was like to be at such a loss for words that it actually gave you a headache trying to think of something to say. The position he was in was terrible and unique to a fault, meaning that no one had been in his shoes. Maybe, just maybe, the man would be able to offer a little sage advice to kick start this talk he obviously wasn't going to bet out of.

From where he stood near the picnic table, he watched as Abby looked to Gibbs with an irritated look and Tim got the impression that she felt like she'd been cornered against her wishes. He looked over at Pam, caught her glance and smiled reassuringly at her. Feeling infused with a dose of courage, he straightened up before taking deep breath and as he exhaled, he took the plunge into the unknown territory that sparked a little fear. Gibbs and Ducky had stayed where they sat while the others had left, so Tim settled for walking over to the man so that he could speak his peace.

"Boss, got a minute?" Tim asked knowing…_hoping,_ that Gibbs would completely understand his polite request for a private conversation.

Gibbs looked at his agent and noticed Tim seemed uncomfortable in his own skin. It was almost as if the clocks had turned back and his youngest agent had been sent back to the days where he was nervous around the team. It was strange because Tim hadn't been this nervous all day. The look on his agent's face unsettled Gibbs slightly. It was now obvious that despite knowing that this talk was coming, this young man wasn't prepared for it. Maybe he needed to get something else off his chest first. He nodded at the younger man and got up to follow him into the house.

"Excuse us, please." Tim quietly requested from Ducky and the ladies who silently watched them go into the house.

"Ducky, surely, he can't be that unwilling to talk to me!" Abby complained. "How am I supposed to fix things between us, if he won't even talk to me?"

Pam silently watched the interaction between Abby and the M.E. with a quiet, reserved interest. She needed to see where things were between these two and Tim and so settled back to listen to the conversation. There was little doubt that Ducky was extremely objective where this team was concerned, but there was still an uncertainty that lay deep underneath as to exactly how he dealt with Abby.

"Abigail, you must exhibit a modicum of patience, my dear. Let Timothy deal with this in his own way. I am certain the two of you will work this out, so long as you realize things are very different between the two of you now."

Pam remained silent and still in the hope of fading into the background as a silent observer. It was hard though and as much as she tried to keep her anger down, she felt the pull of the strong emotion towards Abby's selfishness flare up. At least now Pam knew what she was up against. Tim's team would be there for him, but who would be there to make sure what happened in Mexico didn't happen again. Hell, who would be there to make sure that Abby's hurtful putdowns and resentful treatment that she had heard so much about, didn't happen again? Who was going to protect her boyfriend from the one person that he should never need protecting from?

Pam mentally kicked herself for asking herself those questions. _Tim was a grown man. He didn't need anyone to help him with this from here. He'd only needed someone to let him know it was really okay to stand up for himself when it came to Abby and Gibbs._

* * *

Gibbs stopped inside the living room and quirked his eyebrows at his agent who suddenly needed to talk to him about talking to Abby? _What the hell was up with that?_

"Talk to me, McGee."

"Boss, I appreciate everything you and Ducky did to get the team together today and for helping Pam and I out with Vance."

"What's the problem?"

"It's Abby." Tim dropped his gaze to the floor and waited for the backlash that he was sure would be coming. He was pleasantly surprised when Gibbs didn't even raise an eyebrow and carried on talking to him in a calm tone.

"Yeah, McGee, I figured that much out already. What about her?"

"What am I supposed to say to her?"

"That's your problem?" Gibbs asked incredulously. "McGee, I can't tell you what to say to her."

'Boss, I know , it's just… I told you where I was comin' from. I thought you understood." Tim tried to clarify where his mind was at without spelling it out completely.

Gibbs let out a sigh of frustration as he ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah, McGee. I understand. Doesn't mean I think you should treat this like any other casual conversation. Just be straight with her and stand up for yourself."

"What if…"

"No, McGee. Just do it." Gibbs told him in his low, serious voice that breached no argument.

"Boss." Tim's quiet pleading betrayed how upset he was and at that moment in time he couldn't help but feel like a small child attempting to confide in his parent.

"What's the problem?"

"Does she even know…?" Tim asked hesitantly. Gibbs was struck by how his kid's heart was currently residing on his sleeve.

"Spit it out, Tim. Does she know what?" the boss pushed.

"Never mind. I'll go talk to her." Tim replied meekly and turned to head back outside.

"McGee!" Gibbs called him back before he'd taken more than a half-dozen steps.

Tim turned back and stopped, waiting for his boss to speak his mind.

"Thought we were past this." The older man gently admonished.

Tim took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Gibbs was right, they had gotten to where it was a hell of a lot easier for him to talk to Gibbs but this was so personal and he hadn't wanted to seem weak for worrying about it. "Yeah, Boss. We have. I just…"

"Need to get something off your chest, so spill it. Stop tripping yourself up just to get it out."

Tim walked back over to his boss and shook his head sadly. Now was the time to open the floodgates and spill his guts. "I don't know if she's even aware of what that trip did to me. Not that I'm trying to wallow in it, but…"

"Relax, McGee. She knows." Gibbs jumped in to try and reassure him. He was mentally head slapping himself for not realizing Tim needed more time to work through his broken relationship with Abby and hated the fact that he might have been hasty in his decision to have them talk so soon. The whole situation had, after all, been extremely traumatic for this young man and no one wanted him to think they didn't understand that., most especially, Gibbs himself. Having been privy to Tim's trust when he finally did let go of everything he'd tried to bury from the experience, the boss wasn't about to let this kid think for a minute that all of that had been forgotten or downplayed as unimportant.

"You talked to her." Tim reasoned with trust.

"I did. Now it's your turn. Tell her what's on your mind. Go on. Get it over with." Gibbs instructed with a slight grin in an effort to try to ease Tim's nerves. There was no time for back peddling now and he knew, that the only way forward was to get things in the open….._no time like the present, might as well rip that band aid off fast and get it over with._

"Thanks. Boss." Tim offered up a rueful smile and walked out of the door to try to take control of his fate, at least where his relationship with Abby was concerned.

* * *

Out in the backyard, Abby had quietened down as the knowledge that this wasn't going to be an easy fix seeped into her mind. She had been let alone because Ducky had gone into the house to fix a new round of drinks for everyone and noticed that Pam had silently accompanied the M.E. to help him. As she walked back outside with the drinks, Tim walked out of the living room with Gibbs trailing behind him, and reached out to take the tray of drinks with a kiss to her cheek. The couple smiled chastely at each other before starting to follow Ducky outside.

Pam stopped in the hallway and watched as the man she'd come to love deeply and completely ambled outside towards his former girlfriend so that they could talk. All of a sudden, Pam was struck by an uncomfortable feeling of intrusion knowing that Tim and Abby's relationship had pretty much ran the gauntlet over the past few years and Tim didn't need to be focusing on anyone but himself for this conversation.

"You don't have to stay in here." Gibbs said quietly as he stepped up beside her in the hallway.

"I'd rather not be in the middle of it. Tim needs to concentrate on working through this without worrying about me." Pam explained quietly. "Thank you for what you did with Director Vance today, Agent Gibbs."

"You're welcome. Treat McGee right and you and I'll get along just fine." Gibbs quietly warned.

"I plan on it, Sir.

"Don't call me Sir."

"Oh, Right. I forgot." She said with a small smile.

"Mmn. Hmm." Gibbs answered and returned her smile.

"At the risk of insubordination, Agent Gibbs? I"d like to say the same thing goes from my to you, as well." Pam brazenly threw out there.

"I can appreciate that. It won't happen again. You have my word on that." Tim's boss vowed.

"That's good to know. Mind if I ask you a question?" Pam asked with just a touch of nervousness.

"About?" Gibbs asked her in return while returning his watchful gaze to his people out back.

"You and Tim."

"I'm listening." Gibbs had no idea where this was going but the soft, kindly woman in front of him who had managed to win the heart of his youngest agent, obviously knew exactly what she wanted to say. He dragged his eyes from the group out back and looked her straight on as he waited to hear what she had to say.

"He's never finished his second book." Pam told him sadly.

"Why not?"

"That's what I wanted to ask you. Tim won't talk about it, except to say he has no intention of writing ever again."

Gibbs frowned. _Tim was a writer at heart. Sure, the team had given him hell over his first book, He'd gone through so much hell over it that he hadn't even realized the boss had his book before the others had even found out he'd written it. Gibbs had been impressed with it. He'd mean what he told Tim's publisher, he didn't think Tim needed any help selling his book. It was really good. But now? There was something nagging at the back of his mind about the subject of the second book that he just couldn't quite put his finger on…..Why did it ring a bell? What was it about it that was nagging at him? Wait a minute! That was when that crazed fan of Tim's had killed those two people and had come damn close to killing Abby, too!_

"You remember?" Pam asked

"Yeah. I remember. One of the fans of McGee's first book took it literally and became so obsessed with the story, he tracked McGee down where he lived, went through his trash, got his typewriter ribbon, which gave him the second book and all of his notes for it. He killed two people that he thought were planning on taking Tim out. He even tracked Abby down and held her at gunpoint. We barely got there in time."

"Oh, my God! We can't talk him into getting back into his writing after that. With innocent people getting killed and Abby being put in danger like that; It's obvious his heart's not in it." Pam said sadly. "I didn't know."

"Give it time." Gibbs suggested quietly

"The way Tim hangs on to guilt? Time won't fix this, Agent Gibbs. I'm not sure what will." Pam reminded him sadly.

"Don't give up on the idea. Just be patient. Writing's part of who he is. He'll find that place where he's comfortable with it again, when the time is right." Gibbs' sage advice sunk deep into her mind.

"Patience, I can do." Pam said with a smile.

* * *

Tim and Ducky arrived in the back yard with the drinks and settled into seats. Tim reached over and grabbed one of the glasses off the tray and tried to shake the feeling of trepidation that he was feeling. He decided that he'd be best taking the bull by the horns and let Gibbs' advice soak into his heart as he got the ball rolling.

"Abby, I'll be honest with you. I have no idea what to say to you, right now." Tim told her with a blunt honesty that he knew would sting more than he ever intended it too.

"McGee. I've had everyone telling me how bad I screwed up and I get it. I'm really sorry for the way I acted while we were in Mexico."

"Do you really think that's where this started?" Tim asked.

"No. I know I haven't always treated you right. I know I talk before I think sometimes and I usually only care about getting what I want. I am sorry, McGee. I'll try harder from now on."

Tim was silent as he tried to process this 'new' Abby. It just didn't feel as though it was enough and felt like she was just trying to pacify him. Still, he had to find a way to move them past this – for everyone's sake.

_Doesn't mean I think you should treat this like any other casual conversation. Just be straight with her and stand up for yourself._

_I want my team back….  
... you've gotta move on._

Taking a deep breath, Tim did what he needed to. There was a lot riding on this ad there was no way that he was going to screw it up. He thought back to what was at stake.

_The team working together again_

_The team being able to reunite and knit itself back together_

_His own ability to stand up for himself?_

He had to make sure that all of that was taken care of so that every single person that had been affected could finally move on.

"Abby. As long as you mean that because it comes from your heart and not because anyone told you that you had to say it, then we can start making this work. At the end of the day, we still have to work together and the team is depending on us to be able to do that without any of this lingering between us."

"So, then you forgive me?" Abby looked at Tim with hopeful eyes.

"I'll work on it. As long as you keep your word and work on doing better." Tim cocked his head slightly and sighed heavily. "It doesn't mean everything's fine between us though, Abby. Far from it." Tim warned.

"I understand, McGee. Really, I do."

"I sure hope so."

"McGee, can I ask you something?"

"About?"

"Did you really tell Gibbs that you'd rather go back to Cyber crimes than be assigned to protect me again?" The question had been burning in the pit of Abby's stomach since she found out about it and she wanted nothing more than to take away the pain that she had caused her friend…._friend? Was he still her friend?_

"Does Gibbs lie?" Tim asked with an aggravated huff. He hadn't wanted to ever talk about this with her.

"No, he doesn't."

"Then you have your answer." Tim said with steel in his no nonsense tone.

"Oh." Abby felt tears prickle at the corner of her eyes and blinked furiously to clear them.

"Anything else you need to ask me? I'd appreciate it if you'd ask me now."

"Okay. You and Pam? You're really serious?" Abby asked. Tim narrowed his eyes at the disbelief that dripped from her every word.

"I'm not gonna have this conversation with you, Abby. If you have something that you need to ask about work, I'll do what I can to answer your question. But, my personal life is off limits." Tim told her without backing down.

"Oh. Okay, Then I guess I have no questions for you." Abby answered. Her voice was full of hurt at his blatant dismissal.

"Then we're done?"

"Yeah. No. Tim, I'm really sorry. I know what happened in Mexico was really dangerous and I never meant to put you in that position."

"I find that hard to believe considering that I tried to talk you out of it. You took that as an another excuse to talk to me like I was dirt on your shoe and walk all over me. I was just your doormat. You had plenty of time to think about what you were doing but it was just another chance for you to get your own way without consequences."

"I've been suspended for a month! If that's not consequences, I don't know what is!" Abby complained loudly.

"We both know that if Vance hadn't gotten that complaint from the Mexican government, none of this would have ever come to light."

"You could have made sure it did. Why didn't you?" Abby asked.

"You wanna know why I didn't rat you out?" Tim asked with both surprise and a hint of anger

"Yeah, McGee. I do."

"Obviously, you've forgotten who we work for."

"What's your point, McGee?"

"My point, Abby, is "you rat, you fry." Tim glared at her and wondered how the hell this bright, forensic scientist could be so air-headed sometimes.

"That's it? That's why you didn't rat me out?"

"Part of it."

"McGee, just tell me, already!" Abby's impatience grew to the point that she was getting frustrated. She was trying her hardest to push it back down so that it wouldn't become a problem.

"Doesn't matter." Tim skirted the issue.

"McGee!" Abby objected loudly but was silenced when Tim stood up suddenly.

"No! This stops now. You're not railroading me to get what you want, anymore, Abby. We're done with that!" Tim's harsh tone tore at her heart and the tears that she'd managed to dampen spilled down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. Oh God, I'm so, so sorry."

"Damn it! It's not enough. Don't you get it? Don't you understand this isn't one of those times that you can just say you're sorry and then act like it didn't happen?" Tim threw back at her.

"Why won't you accept my apology?" Abby felt her breath catch in her throat. "Please, Tim. Please. I don't know what to say anymore. I don't know what to do. I'm sorry."

Tim sank back down in the chair and ran his hand through his hair with frustration. This wasn't going to give them assurance that the team could work together. His anger at what she had done had surfaced with a vengance and he knew that it wasn't going to help.

"Look!." He glanced at Abby and waited for her to raise her head. She never did which did nothing to quell his fury. "Abby, damn it, look at me!"

Abby raised her head in shock and tried to focus on him through tear blurred eyes.

"I don't know what you want from me. I really don't, but I'll accept your apology." Tim conceded

Abby sniffled. "You will?...Sorry, McGee, please. I'm sorry. I need you to know; to see how sorry I am."

"Let me finish. I don't know whether I'll ever be able to trust you again but if that day ever comes again then you can't keep betraying it the way you have. I won't be able to be so forgiving next time. Regardless of what else you may think of me, I'm not made of steel."

"I'll try. I really will." Abby said with a deep rooted honesty.

"Yeah, I know you will. But whether or not it'll be enough is another story. If that trust can ever be rebuilt, then it's gonna take time. You need to step back, Abby. You need to treat me with a hell of a lot more respect on the job than you have been. As bad as Tony razzes me, he still treats me with a hell of a lot more respect then you do. You need to fix that, within yourself, Abby."

"I can do that." Abby nodded her agreement.

"Can you? You think you can? Because I gotta tell you, I think you're gonna struggle."

"Maybe I will, but I'll try my hardest. I don't want this to come between us anymore and I'll do what I can."

Tim started at her for a second before standing up. "Come between us? There is no us, Abby. We're both part of Gibbs' team and he doesn't deserve this getting in the way of our job. Ziva and Tony don't either. For them, I'm willing to let this go, here and now. I don't know about you, but I like my job and the team I've earned a place on. I'm not gonna screw with that. But, you know what Abby? I'm not gonna let you screw with it either."

"I get it, McGee." Abby said meekly.

"You better because there won't be a next time. I'll leave it that we can work together. Nothing more, nothing less. One more thing. I'm in love with Pam, Abby. Don't screw that up for me because you've decided you want everything the way you want it. If you can't deal with Pam and I being together, then, just do us all a favor and keep your distance. But, I hope you're not gonna be that petty. I hope you're gonna work at making this work, for all of us."

"I will, I promise." She sat and watched as Tim walked into the house and made a silent vow, that no matter what, she would give it her best shot.


	24. Epilogue

Tim couldn't help but smile. As he looked around him at the rest of his team all working on something case related, it brought about a feeling that all was starting to be right with the world, more than it ever had been before. To a degree anyway because he knew that there would always be one glitch in that globe now; his now fractured relationship with Abby. Returning his eyes to his own computer, he couldn't help but think back over the past two weeks.

**Flashback***

_Walking away from Abby and into Ducky's house, he was brought up short at the sight of Pam and Gibbs standing side by side, apparently watching what had happened between himself and Abby. Feeling like he'd just royally screwed up with the boss watching, he geared himself up to apologise. Before the words could form on his tongue, Gibbs shocked him by doing something that he would have expected._

"_If you even think of apologizing, I will head slap you so hard your children will feel it, McGee." The quiet and serious tone drove the point home and Tim could only smile. "You got it out, now rein that anger in and move on."_

_Silence greeted his response and Gibbs understood that his idea of moving on was more forceful than he'd intended. "McGee. My door's always open. My phone works, too."_

"_Thanks, Boss." Tim answered with a grateful smile._

"_You two, go on, enjoy the rest of the night."_

"_Boss, I can't just leave without saying goodbye to Ducky. Oh, no, Boss, I forgot he was out there!" Tim admitted in horror. "He's probably so…"_

"_McGee. Ducky'll be just fine. If he wasn't okay with what just happened out there, trust me, he would have said so."_

_Tim looked at his boss for a long minute. The boss did know Ducky better than the rest of them did, so he had to be right. "Okay." He laid his faith in Gibbs' word out there but continued to gaze at his boss with gratitude.._

"_Go on. Both of ya. Git."_

"_Thanks, Boss."_

"_Thank you, again, Agent Gibbs."_

_Tim and Pam spent the rest of the night in quiet companionable conversation by enjoying each other's company. It was a special time and with Jethro laying curled up at their feet and the feel of each other wrapped up in their arms, all the weight that bared down on their shoulders lifted leaving nothing but contentment in its wake. They discussed future dates and group get together's with the team and finally decided with the plan of inviting the others round and solidifying those relationships sooner rather than later. Everything was headed in the right direction….finally._

_Monday morning dawned bright and sunny and with the newly found zest for life putting a pep in his step and much more happiness in his heart, Tim bought everyone coffee and breakfast and arrived earlier than the rest of them, only to find an envelope with his name on it lying on his desk when he got there._

_**Training Workshop**_

_The words jumped off the page at him and suddenly, he recalled Gibbs' words to him about this._

_"McGee."_

_"Boss?"_

_"You willing to go for some extra training?"  
"Sure.".  
"No matter what it's for?"  
"If you feel it's necessary, I'll go."  
"Good. Okay._

_With a smile, he read the information and signed off on it before making a copy for himself and packing up his gear. He left everyone's coffee and breakfast on Gibbs' desk on top of his paper and headed out, destined for Assertiveness Training. Oh, yeah, things were definitely looking up._

_**End Flashback**_

Now, two weeks and two training workshops later, Tim not only had more assertiveness under his belt, but also some invaluable leadership training that he hoped would help him with both his career and his personal life. Gibbs had done him such a huge favor by nudging him in the right direction when he signed him up for both training sessions and it left him with absolutely no doubt that he was considered a valuable member of the team. Things were looking better now than they ever had before. He and Pam had even managed to stay in touch while he'd been gone for the training thanks to his I-phone and it's video call function. Even with everything he'd learned and experienced in those two weeks, his nightly talk with Pam had still been the highlight of each day.

Sitting straighter and with more confidence now, Tim soon became engrossed in his work and lost all track of time. Since cold cases were the order of the day and no phones rang, it was an easy thing to have happen. Before he realized it, the day was done and the call to wrap it up was given. He'd been thinking about something in his spare moments for the past week now and wanted a second opinion, mainly so he'd have the reassurance that what he was planning was right. _But who to ask?_ He knew he really wanted one person's opinion but would that person be willing to talk to him about it? Where that answer had at one time most likely have been a resounding 'no'; now, Tim was fairly certain, the answer would more than likely be a 'yes'.

Pam had exercise class tonight and wouldn't be able to come over which meant Tim was free as a bird for the night and this presented itself as the perfect opportunity to seek out the hopefully sage advice that the second opnion would bring. Still it was with a heart full of nervous trepidation that he drove to the man's house. As he pulled up outside the house, he took a deep, cleansing breath and went in search of the man he really wanted to talk to. He didn't' have to look far since the first place he looked was in his basement. With careful silent steps, Tim entered the man's sanctuary warily seeing as he was unsure of the reception he'd get. While Gibbs had stressed several times that his door was open for Tim, the younger man had never before taken him up on that invitation.

"McGee." Gibbs offered as way of greeting so as to hide the shock at his arrival.

"Hey, Boss. I..um..It's just…I…"

"Spit it out, McGee. I won't bite." Gibbs grinned at Tim's nervousness and pulled out the small stool that was tucked under the bench. "Sit."

"Ok. Er, thanks." Tim sat down on the stool and watched as Gibbs reached up to grab a bottle of bourbon off the top shelf. He accepted the jar that the Boss used as a glass and returned the smile. "I wanted to talk to you if that's okay?"

"Uh-huh. Guessed as much. Wouldn't be otherwise, now would ya? What's on your mind?"

"You know how well things have been going for me and Pam. We..I…" He started when Gibbs put his hand on Tim's shoulder.

"Relax. Damn it, McGee, you're wound tighter than a drum."

"Sorry, Boss."

**_thwack**_

"Ow…"

"How many times have I gotta tell you boys?"

"So…Huh. Okay, yeah, it's a sign of weakness but….You know how my relationships don't exactly work out, right?" Tim admitted with a deeply honest tone.

"Yeah, McGee. I know. You've kept trying though, Gotta give you credit for that."

"Thanks, Boss, But, my track record sucks in the biggest way. Since I started working with the team, every relationship I've ever tried to have has ended badly. Starting with Abby…." Tim stopped what he was saying and glanced down at the glass he held in his hands. With a deep rooted sigh, he tossed back the bourbon and chocked as the burn hit the back of his throat. "Wow!. That's strong stuff."

Gibbs chuckled and refilled the jar. "Yep. Sip it this time. Told Fornell the same thing once."

Tim nodded and sipped at the drink.

"So, you wanna talk. What happened with Abby?" Gibbs asked. He wished he hadn't a moment late when sadness flooded into those innocent green eyes that had always been so expressive.

"We…." Tim shook his head. "It just didn't work out." Sadness and regret flooded through him at the thought of what happened and he found himself unwilling to talk about it.

"Okay. So, what's really buggin' you?"

"I'm just not good at this."

"This?"

"The whole relationship thing. Everyone I let in hurts me in one way or another, or worse. What is it about me, Boss? Why can't people just see me for who I am rather than someone they can walk all over?" Tim's heartfelt, plea tugged at Gibbs heart and he felt himself thud down on the hull of the boat.

"There's nothing wrong with you. You just pick the wrong people." He glanced over Tim and cocked his head. "Pam done something wrong?"

Tim's eyes shot up at that question and he soon found himself wanting to defend her honor.

"No. Absolutely not! The woman's a saint. I just don't know whether I'm cut out for this."

"Why?"

"Because I'm such a damn soft touch and let people walk all over me. Guess I'm just used to it."

"Well quit bein' used to it and let yourself be happy. Why is that wrong?" Gibbs pushed.

"It's not wrong." Tim whispered. "I'm just scared."

"Of?"

"Of getting hurt again, Boss. Of wearing my heart on my sleeve and getting it bled dry till there's nothing left…again." Tim huffed out a sarcastic laugh and sipped at his drink "That I'll wake up and the last six months with her will have all been a dream."

"Word to the wise here, McGee; just let it happen. Just like you have been for the last six months. One day at a time." Gibbs wasn't one for these little heart to heart talks, but knew that his boy needed advice. His gut pinged slightly and he just knew that there was something else that was on his mind. "Talk to me."

"Can I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure." Gibbs nodded and sucked in a breath.

"I want to ask you about marriage." Gibbs laughed loudly at the statement and shook his head with mirth.

"You sure I'm the right person to be asking. I mean, come on. You do realize you've come to the guy with a pretty damn bad track record, right?"

"Yeah, guess so." Tim glanced at Gibbs with a grin. "Why not?"

"Ok." Gibbs nodded and took another slug out of his mug. "Do you love Pam?"

"What? Yes. Of course I do." Tim stood up and started pacing. "She's everything to me and to be honest, my world currently revolves around her."

"Then go with it, McGee. She's good for you and makes you happy."

"Yeah, she does. How do you know?"

"Know what?" Gibbs asked with more patience than usual. After all Tim had never come to him for advice before and he wasn't about to scare him off with his usual gruff impatience.

"How do you know when someone's 'the one' Boss?" Tim sunk back down on the stool with slumped shoulders.

"Okay. Listen to me because I'm not gonna say this again. I may have been married a few times, but there was only one woman that really stuck in my heart. When I first met her, I just knew she was the one and I have no doubt in my mind, that we would still be together today."

"Shannon?." Came Tim's quietly respectful question.

"Yeah, Shannon. The others didn't really mean near as much to me. Sure, it was good while it lasted, but I didn't love them the same way. You just know when the right person comes along." Gibbs shrugged and topped up his mug.

"I think I know what you are talking about, Boss. I just needed that reassurance that what I'm doing is right."

"I think it is. Listen to your heart, Tim. You said your world revolves around her now. If when you get up in the morning, all you can think about is what you want to do to make her happy today, and your last thought before you go to sleep at night, is 'did I make her happy today, then she's the one."

"That's exactly where I'm at ,Boss."

"Then you have your answer; straight outta your own heart, McGee."

I think….I'm going to….Damn it! I'm going to ask Pam to marry me."

Gibbs' head snapped up at the revelation and he couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. "You think you're ready?"

"Yeah. I've been thinking about it all week and want to grow old gracefully with her by my side. I want kids, a house, a dog…hell I want it all as long as Pam is there with me. I don't want to waste anymore time, Boss." Tim blushed furiously as the tidal wave of words poured out of his mouth.

"Then you have my blessing. If she makes you happy and it's what you want, then go ask her."

Tim stood up and placed the jar on the workbench. He turned to leave feeling lighter than he had all week but paused at the bottom step. "Boss?"

"Yeah, McGee."

"Thank you." Tim whispered and made his way up the steps. Gibbs smiled as he watched his agent leave and stood up to stretch.

"You're welcome, Son. Anytime."

"Come on already, Probie. How hard can it be?" Tony stood leaning against the counter sipping on his frappe latte. "Just pick one."

"You know Tony; it's really not that easy. I really want her to feel blown away. But, it's not like we've ever talked about this. In case you haven't noticed, she doesn't wear a whole lot of accessories."

"That one." Tony pointed to something that caught his eye and huffed when Tim shook his head.

"No! You've pointed that one out three times, why that one?"

"Just like it." Tony scowled and made his way over to the chair. "Wake me up when you've found one, alright. Preferable before we have to get back."

"Yes, Tony. …Excuse me?" Tim called out to the sales girl. "Can I see this one?"

The young girl pulled the pad out and placed it in front of Tim. His eyes were automatically drawn to a one carrot, platinum set ring that sat in the middle.

"Tony. I've found it!" the girl plucked the ring out of the pad and handed it to her customer. "What do you think?"

Tony came to his side sucking up the last of his drink and chocked at the sight of the price tag. "How much?"

"Stop looking at the price and look at the ring. Do you like it?" Tim said impatiently.

"Well, heck yeah! It's gorgeous, but really? You gonna spend that much on a ring?"

"Yep. I'll take it."

Tim glanced at Tony and grinned broadly at the look of shock on his friend's face. "She's worth it, Tony. I'll give her anything she wants if it makes her happy."

He felt Tony clap him on the back.

"Sure you will, Probie. Sure you will."

It wasn't long before they were leaving the shop with Tim's new purchase nestled safely in a little velvet box in his pocket. Tonight was the night. Tonight was going to signal a whole new life with the right person at his side and he wanted it to be perfect. With a sigh he reached into his pocket and let his fingers trace the curves of the velvet box.

"Just do me a favor, Probie."

"What's that?" Tim said innocently and pulled himself out of his happy thoughts.

"Just make sure she's as good to you as I know you will be to her, alright?"

"You can count on that." Tim grinned as he climbed into the car.

Tonight, he was going to ask Pam to be his wife and no matter what had happened in the past month, he felt happiness ad contentment wash over him in waves.

_Oh yeah. Life was definitely good_

* * *

A VERY SPECIAL THANK YOU TO SHELBYLOU - Couldn't have done this without you.


End file.
